A day before the ICC deadline to name the final 15-member squad for T20 World Cup 2022, BCCI announced that the injured the Jasprit Bumrah will be replaced by Mohammed Shami, who was a part of the standby players list, in India's squad. There was a three-way battle between Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur but Shami was pitted as the frontrunner mainly because of his vast experience and past success in Australian conditions. Despite that, the announcement from the BCCI drew mixed reactions from fans on social media.
While one section wished Shami luck and believed his experience and skills will come in handy in Australia in Bumrah's absence, the majority trolled BCCI for their choice by pointing out Shami's absence from the T20I squad since last year's World Cup. Shami had last played in T20 Internationals during the last edition of the ICC T20 World Cup in the UAE.
He was supposed to play in the six T20Is at home against Australia and South Africa but tested positive for COVID-19 and had to remain in isolation. On return, he had to prove his fitness before NCA approved his trip to Australia. He has already left for Australia and will join the rest of the Indian squad members in Brisbane ahead of their two warm-up matches against Australia on October 17 and New Zealand on October 19. Shami has played 17 T20Is and has taken 18 wickets.
Siraj, on the other hand, was in red-hot form, returning as the Player of the Series in the recently-concluded three-match ODI series against South Africa. The right-arm seamer, however, has very little experience at the international level in limited-overs cricket and has never represented India in an ICC event. He along with all-rounder Shardul Thakur has been added to India's standby players list.
Here is how Twitter reacted to Shami replacing Bumrah in India's T20 World Cup squad
{{/usCountry}}Siraj, on the other hand, was in red-hot form, returning as the Player of the Series in the recently-concluded three-match ODI series against South Africa. The right-arm seamer, however, has very little experience at the international level in limited-overs cricket and has never represented India in an ICC event. He along with all-rounder Shardul Thakur has been added to India's standby players list.
Here is how Twitter reacted to Shami replacing Bumrah in India's T20 World Cup squad
{{/usCountry}}Shami may not have played T20 cricket for a long time but he was simply superb with the new ball for the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022. His pace, swing, line and length were immaculate in the first six overs but what India would hope from the veteran right-arm seamer is some consistency at the death. The slog overs have been one of India's major concerns in the lead-up to the World Cup.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel have been mighty expensive in the last three years of late. While young left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has been impressive in his short career so far, it would be too much to be India's lead bowler at the death in a tournament like the World Cup. Bumrah was supposed to put an end to India's worries but a reoccurrence of a back injury that had kept him away from the game for quite some a couple of years ago ruled him out of the World Cup.