Several current and former cricketers feel that Bumrah’s injury could affect India’s chances of winning the tournament, former all-rounder Rohan Gavaskar said that the team is accustomed to playing without the star pacer in the shortest format of the game.
Indian bowling was struggling for a few months and Bhuvneshwar Kumar leaked so many runs in the death overs. In the recent Asia Cup, India couldn’t be able to defend the targets and the same thing was seen in the series against Australia.
The Indian main bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who had missed the Asia Cup last year, is again dropped out of the team from the upcoming T20 World Cup due to a back injury.
While several current and former cricketers feel that Bumrah’s injury could affect India’s chances of winning the tournament, former all-rounder Rohan Gavaskar said that the team is usually to play without the star pacer in the shortest format of the game.
“You can’t replace Jasprit Bumrah and what he brings to the team. Any team that has Jasprit Bumrah has an advantage whether it’s any team in the world if you have Bumrah in your bowling attack it’s an advantage. For me, if I had to pick a bowling XI, he’s the first pick from the bowling side of things,”
Gavaskar said while speaking on Sports18’s daily sports news show ‘Sports over the Top’.
Despite recommending that having Bumrah is a benefit for any team, Gavaskar said that the pacer’s absence isn’t a misfortune for the group.
“So, India has missed out on an advantage, that’s for sure, but is it a loss? I’m not so sure you can call it a loss, because how many T20 internationals have Jasprit played in the last year and a half? So, I think the Indian team has sort of gotten used to not having him on the side and have made plans accordingly.
The upcoming T20 World Cup will be played in Australia from October 16. The tournament high-octane clash between India and Pakistan will be played on October 23. The fans are eagerly waiting for the clash while all eyes will be on Babar Azam and Virat Kohli’s form.
India’s Squad for World Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh. Standby Players: Mohammad Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar.
Pakistan’s Squad for World Cup: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir. Standby Players: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani.