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'India realised their mistake in T20 World Cup squad': Ex-Pakistan captain says Shami, Siraj flying to Australia good
Shami, Siraj and Thakur are set to travel to Australia on Thursday and join the Indian squad before their two warm-up matches against Australia and New Zealand in Brisbane on October 17 and October 19 respectively.
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt welcomed India's decision to fly Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur to Australia ahead of the T20 World Cup. Shami is the front-runner to replace the injured Japrit Bumrah in India's T20 World Cup squad. The official announcement is likely to be made soon with October 15 being the last date to name the final 15 for the world event. With Deepak Chahar, one of the reserves, ruled out of the tournament with a back injury, Shardul Thakur is set to be his like-for-like replacement while Siraj will take Shami's place in the standby players.
Shami, Siraj and Thakur are set to travel to Australia on Thursday and join the Indian squad before their two warm-up matches against Australia and New Zealand in Brisbane on October 17 and October 19 respectively.
"Yes they (India) have realised (their mistakes). Their problems with death bowling were quite visible. India's bowling doesn't look threatening when they don't get swing. It was a worrying sign for the teams. They were conceding 200 runs quite frequently," Butt said on his YouTube channel.
Shami with his artistry and experience will always be an asset. Siraj was excellent in the recently-concluded ODI series against South Africa, where he emerged Player of the Series. He took five wickets, including three in the Ranchi ODI, in three games.
Shardul with his all-round abilities will provide cover to Hardik Pandya.
Butt pointed out the qualities of all three fast bowlers and said they can be effective in Australia conditions.
Good that Shami is fit now. He's an experienced guy, he doesn't need to prove himself. He has played an ODI World Cup there. He knows what to do. Siraj was the Player of the Series against South Africa. He has pace, he is young, bowls the hard length. I've been saying this for a long time that when Bumrah is not fit then Siraj can be a good option. Looking at the conditions, these are good picks. Shardul Thakur is a fast-bowling all-rounder. Yes, he is not that quick but the kind of bounce that is available on Australian pitches, if he can hit the right areas, he will be effective. And he has shown that he can be handy with the bat. He has scored runs in England.
