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'There's no threatening pace. Bumrah has got great control but...': Ex-Pakistan captain's no-nonsense take on India star
The Indian pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel were not available for selection in Asia Cup 2022 owing to injuries. Both are undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru.
Jasprit Bumrah has not been included in India's Asia Cup squad with a back injury in what is set to be a massive blow to the defending champions, who begin their campaign with a Sunday (August 28) blockbuster against arch-rivals Pakistan. Bumrah is undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore. Pakistan have also suffered a huge jolt in form of Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has been ruled out of the six-team competition with a knee injury that he picked up during the Test series against Sri Lanka last month. The 22-year-old pacer has been advised to take four to six weeks of rest.
If missing Shaheen is a setback for Pakistan, not having Jasprit Bumrah is no less a bolt from the blue for India, who now rely heavily on Bhuvneshwar Kumar and youngsters Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh. Known for his precise yorkers and ability to bowl at the death, Bumrah offers great strength to the bowling mix. But when it comes to his pace, Salman Butt believes the Indian lacks speed that would threaten a batter.
Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt said world cricket currently doesn't have bowlers who can touch 150kph on a regular basis. "There is no threatening pace. Even in world cricket, you won't find many bowlers with threatening pace. Who bowls at 150kph at the moment like Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammed Sami and Mitchell Johnson used to do?" said Butt on his YouTube channel.
"Express pace has vanished now. Bumrah is an outstanding bowler with great control on his yorkers and slower ones but isn't threatening. For Pakistan, Haris and Hasnain touch 150 but neither of the two does it consistently. Nortje bowls at a rapid pace in one occasional game but isn't threatening like the bowlers we have seen in past."
"In the recent cricket history, Jofra Archer is the only bowler to have threatened a bit. We are lacking threatening pace in world cricket currently. Even Mitchell (Starc) doesn't bowl consistently beyond 150," he added.
Apart from Bumrah, Harshal Patel will also miss the continental event with a rib cage injury. Bhuvneshwar Kumar will have a young death overs specialist Arshdeep for company, while Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya come to the fore when it comes to having an additional bowler.
In batting, India expect runs from Virat Kohli, who returns to international cricket after a break of seven weeks. It’s been over 1,000 days since Kohli last scored a 100 in international cricket and he will be looking to make his 100th T20 international appearance on Sunday.
“My main aim is to help India win the Asia Cup and the World Cup and I am ready to do anything for the team to make it possible,” Kohli said recently.
Kohli has played just four of India’s 24 T20Is since the last T20 World Cup, which was also held in the UAE. The mercurial batter will be the only second player after Ross Taylor of New Zealand to have played in more than 100 games in all three formats of the sport.
