I want to bowl as fast as possible and try what the batsmen don't expect."- Kemar Roach
Kemar Roach. Heard of him? Hardly?
Well, after Tuesday's IPL auction you know he is a West Indian fast bowler, right? What you perhaps didn't reckon was he is a dreaded one at that.
The 21-year-old hurls the ball at break-neck speed and has been responsible for sending Australian captain Ricky Ponting to the hospital after crashing one against his evading elbow in a Test match last month.
With an eye on bolstering the pace department, Deccan Chargers have gone for a smart buy.
As they set out to defend their title, the big guns have a new addition to their armoury -- a bullet from Barbados.
Given the consistently with which Roach bowls at 150 kmph an hour coupled with amazing control, evident from the combination of yorkers and swinging deliveries, the West Indian's brutal force will certainly boost the Chargers.
On pitches that aid pacemen, Roach thinks he can do much better. "I really think I can bowl much faster...
maybe 155 kmph," he had said of the wicket at Perth, considered the world fastest track.
West Indian coach David Williams made this observation after Ponting ended with a bruised elbow.
"Roach can also hit you in your head as well as hit your edge." Ouuch! The crafty quick has also been lauded for his killer instinct.
"It was very gladiatorial out there, the way Kemar Roach was taking on Ricky," Shane Watson said of the contest.
Ponting too was all praise for the speedster who has played just five Tests, seven ODIs and just two international T20s. "Almost every ball he's bowled, is hovering around 150kmph. Someone who is pretty short at that pace can get the ball to skid onto you pretty quickly off the wicket with not much bounce. Anyone that's bowling that sort of pace will trouble any batter," Ponting said.
Thankfully, Ponting will not have to face Roach in IPL-3 courtesy his decision to withdraw from the tournament.
However, DC's opponents will do well to mark Roach's words: "I want to bowl as consistently and as fast as possible and try to bowl what the batsmen don't expect."
He'll be a handful.
