Kolkata: Coming down heavily on the current crop of Indian pacers, former captain Sourav Ganguly on Friday said that they lacked the "attitude" and "strength" to bowl fast.

"Our bowlers have no strength. When Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan arrived they had a lot of pace but gradually they dropped down. It's an attitude thing, to bowl fast. But the Indian bowlers think much rather than bowling fast," Ganguly said.

"They have to be like Shoaib Akhtar, who thinks nothing other than bowling fast. Glenn McGrath was brilliant in Australian conditions, while Wasim Akram was difficult in subcontinent wickets, especially with the older ball," Ganguly, whose favourite bowler is retired Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan.

The 40-year-old former player, however, was all praise for the country's batsmen, especially Virat Kohli, who he touted as the future of Indian cricket.

"He is not only the next star; the future of Indian cricket rests on Kohli," Ganguly said while interacting with school children during a promotional event here today.

"The future of Indian cricket will always be good with so much of interest in the sport."

Ganguly also added that Kohli, Manoj Tiwary and Cheteshwar Pujara have the ability to replace the three biggies of Indian cricket - Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid.

"They all have talent. The transition happens over a period of time. It will take some time."

Meanwhile, with two Bengal players - Tiwary and Ashok Dinda - being picked in the national Twenty20 side, Ganguly said the state's future looks bright.

"To be specific, we have five players - Tiwary, Dinda, Wriddhiman Saha, Anustup Majumdar and Sami Ahmed - who not only have the ability but the temperament to play for India," he insisted.

Source : CricketNext