What India's bowling lineup will look like in the near future?

The annual extravaganza called the IPL has ended and now the focus will shift again to international circuit. India are due to play a resurgent Bangladesh side in a 1-Test, 3-ODI tour. After that a tour to Zimbabwe(3 ODIs, 2 T20Is) and Sri Lanka(3 Tests) will be followed by South Africa visiting India(4 Tests, 5 ODIs, 3 T20Is). With such a packed schedule, one can never be sure about the bowling line-up remaining the same despite the success our pace trio had in the World Cup. For some reason or the other, the bowling attack presents a new look every two or three years once and this is how we predict it to look like in the future:

1. Bhuvneshwar Kumar:

Bhuvneshwar was unfortunate to get injured before the World Cup

Before the World Cup, Bhuvi was expected to lead the line of Indian pace attack being the highest ranked Indian bowler(13th) then. But an unfortunate injury kept him away for the initial matches and he only played one match against minnows UAE. The success of the playing trio Shami, Yadav & Mohit kept him side-lined for the rest of the campaign. But, his brilliant show in IPL(18 wickets in 14 matches) for the Sunrisers Hyderabad proved that he is back to his usual best. He has been picked in both ODI and Test squad and he should make the cut for the playing XI in the ODIs at least. His ability to swing the ball both ways can be a lethal weapon upfront.

Test career: 29 wickets in 12 matches, average of 35.00 with 6/82 being his best figures

ODI career: 46 wickets in 45 matches, average of 36.76 with 4/8 being his best figures

1st class career: 178 wickets in 101 innings, economy of 2.83

2. Sandeep Sharma:

Sandeep caught eyes with some excellent performances in IPL

In a rather gloomy campaign for KXIP, the Punjab seamer was the sole silver lining. He came in to the limelight after finishing as the joint highest wicket-taker (12) for India in 2012 U-19 world cup including a 4-wicket haul in the final. The medium pacer finished with 13 wickets in 14 matches at an economy of 7.00 in IPL-8 and 2nd in the most dot balls bowled charts. He has a stellar record in domestic cricket as well and should get a nod for the Zimbabwe series.

1st class career: 111 wickets in 48 innings at an economy of 2.74.

3. Harshal Patel:

Harshal had a great IPL this time

The Gujarat born seamer has been extremely consistent in the domestic circuit for Haryana. He took consecutive 8-fors in the quarter final and semi final of Ranji trophy in his debut season of 2011-12. The right-arm seamer was a key member of the RCB in IPL-8 where he took wickets at crucial times finishing with 17 wickets at an impressive average of 19.29. His big outswingers can pose serious threat to the batsmen and his consistency should get him in the team in the near future.

1st class career: 89 wickets in 44 innings with 7 5-wickets hauls.

4. Axar Patel:

Akshar Patel could replace Jadeja in the line-up soon at this rate

?The 21-year old all-rounder made his ODI debut against Bangladesh last year and is a like-for-like replacement for the underperforming Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja has struggled off late and his below-par IPL means Axar should get a chance in the upcoming ODI series. The BCCI U-19 cricketer of the year for 2012-13 has already played a few ODIs for India and was an unused squad player for India in the World Cup. The Gujarat youngster played a couple of handy knocks for KXIP during the IPL and was fairly consistent with the ball as well. Expect him to get more playing time in near future.

ODI career: 16 wickets in 10 innings(Econ. 4.41)

1st class career: 38 wickets in 21 innings, 507 runs in 16 innings(avg 42.25)

5. Yuzvendra Chahal:

Yuzvendra Chahal has impressed in the IPL

The 24-year old leggie has been in the limelight for the entire IPL season this year. He finished as the 3rd highest wicket taker with 23 wickets. Having bowled a magical spell of 3-0-9-2 in the CLT20 final in 2011, the spinner from Haryana was expected to take the world by storm but somehow it didn’t happen and his form dipped in subsequent seasons both in IPL and domestic cricket. But the attacking leg-spinner has come back strongly in the previous 2 seasons and can fill in the currently empty leg-spinner slot in the national side.

The current bowling line-up consists of Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Shami is currently recovering from an injury that kept him out of the entire IPL season. Jadeja is struggling for form. So, expect a few changes in the line-up and the above players can be right in the mix.