The Fastest Bowler of All Time

Atul Sharma seems to have created quite a sensation since he was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals last year. Apparently, this 24 year old kid is something of a monster fast bowler capable of bowling at speeds touching 105mph!
The story goes that about 4 years ago, after reading Ian Pont’s ‘The Fast Bowler’s Bible’, he managed to contact Mr. Pont and convinced him (Pont) to have a look at him (Atul). At that time, Atul bowled with a front-on action at ~75mph. doesn’t sound too promising, huh? But through intense hard work, a fitness regimen more grueling than any I have seen, and an incredibly unique ‘javelin throwers’ action (underscoring the importance of cross-sport training), he has managed to increase his bowling speed to what it is today. Of course, he has Ian Pont to thank for most of this including the unique action and his equally distinctive exercise routines.
He was to have played in IPL 2, but an injury kept him out. if he gets a chance, I am keen to see him during IPL 3.
What is really strange though is that he hasn’t played a single Cricket game for the past 7-8 years, forget elite level, he hasn’t even played at the club level. My experience is that there is nothing that can replace actual match practice. Besides, bowling at high speeds isn’t the only weapon of a fast bowler. Without the other tricks, fast bowling can be dealt with quite severely by quality batsmen.
Having said this though, one must not underestimate the sheer impact of genuine pace. A delivery bowled at 80mph gives the batsman just over half a second to react. At 90mph, this reduces to ~455 milliseconds, at 95mph to ~431 milliseconds and at 100mph to ~410 milliseconds. At 105mph, the batsman gets a reaction time of ~390 milliseconds only. That’s 24% less time than what he gets at 80mph!
I am not suggesting that Atul Sharma can bowl each ball at 105mph but even the occasional >100mph effort ball can have devastating impact.
Let us hope that the mystique surrounding this sensation proves worth our time and that he does indeed go on to become the fastest bowler of all time.