Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah was the planned pace bowling attack for the Border Gavaskar Trophy in 2020. Ishant Sharma injured himself in the IPL prior to the tournament, with the Indian Cricketers making it to the field after a long Covid enforced break. The attack for the first Test was changed to feature Umesh Yadav instead of Ishant Sharma. Umesh Yadav was a worthy replacement, having played down-under four times. He also has the pace to take on Australian batters in bouncy tracks and had already made three trips to the country. A test in though, Mohammad Shami went home with a broken hand and Mohammad Siraj made his debut. Mid-way through the Melbourne Test, Umesh Yadav was gone too with a calf injury. For Sydney, the attack was reduced to Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, in his second Test, and Navdeep Saini making his Test debut. Jasprit Bumrah, the most experienced pacer then had around 15 caps to his name.

It got worse in Sydney though. Jasprit Bumrah's workload took a toll on him. To make matters worse, Ravindra Jadeja had his finger broken while batting and Ravichandran Ashwin's fitness too finally gave in with the trio ruled out of the Gabba Test. If the pacers were gone, the spinners falling apart was a true disaster to take in. For the Final Test the pace bowling line-up had all but 4 capts. Mohammad Siraj, the seniormost, Navdeep Saini, and Shardul Thakur took the reigns. They had T Natarajan, who does not have too much first class experience and was kept on has a net bowler. Along with the four pacers, India had Washington Sundar on his debut as well. While the result went India's way, the bowling attack over the four Tests highlighted the need of a deep set of bowlers, especially pacers for long tours. Around seven pacers and three spinners were required, while Kuldeep Yadav and Deepak Chahar waited on the bench.

With memories of last time, India looks to be making some steps towards Australia, building depth early on. The Duleep Trophy this time around has a lot of quality, with players who are regulars or otherwise on the fringes of the Indian Team taking part. While the batting looks full of quality, the bowlers this time have a really strong chance of showing that they can be on the flight to Australia. Akash Deep who made his debut earlier this year in India has a chance to get some red-ball game time in. Prasidh Krishna, coming in after a long injury lay-off, and Avesh Khan, who has also been in and around the fringes for a while. Prasidh Krishna in particular will be waiting to play again. He made his debut earlier this year against South Africa but could not maintain the required discipline to succeed at Test level. Physically he has all he needs to be successful in Australia. He is tall, standing at 6ft 5, bowls 140+ with ease, and can get the ball to skid on nicely. Discipline and control though a concern that he will need to focus on.

Team B has Mukesh Kumar who has also been regularly around the Test side over the last year. He has traveled with the Indian Team for an year and looks set to make the side, with a good Duleep Trophy and home Tests likely to cement his place. In Team C, Umran Malik, who has been out of favour for a while could make a silent entry. Mohammad Siraj in 2020 did something similar. He was falling in the IPL, as well, but showed that he is meant for the Test format with incredible control in Australia. Umran Malik, stands in a similar spot and with more pace on his side he could look to follow Siraj's path with a good Duleep Trophy.

Arshdeep Singh in Team D though will be the most eager here. He has been a crucial part of the white-ball team and has been doing really well both with the new-ball and in the death. While he may not have the pace, his left-arm angle adds variety, and his performances in recent times has all but primed him for a spot in the Test side in the near future. There will be a lot of focus on him particularly among uncapped Test pacers, and Arshdeep Singh will be desperate to prove his point. 

With each team carrying effective pacers, the Duleep Trophy will be a huge chance for each of them to show that they deserve a ticket to Australia. The Australian tour is the biggest part of the calendar, and the quality in the Duleep Trophy gives the bowlers a huge stepping stone.