Who will replace Jasprit Bumrah in India's T20 World Cup squad? Dale Steyn gives unexpected answer
Can Shami have the same sort of impact as Bumrah? Remember, new-ball bowling, which is Shami's fortay in shortest format of the game, is not India's worry. Legendary South Africa pacer Dale Steyn said it would be tough to replace someone like Bumrah and India will 'miss him tremendously' in the World Cup
How big a blow is Jasprit Bumrah's injury to India? A gigantic one to be honest. Bumrah is one of those very few Indian bowlers who is equally effective at any stage of the game, particularly at the death, which has been India's biggest concern of late. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel can take over the powerplay duties quite well but they are not as effective in the slog overs. Harshal Patel has leaked runs like an open tap whenever he has been given the responsibility of bowling in the last four overs. While Arshdeep has been very impressive in his short career so far, banking on someone like him in a World Cup seems like a bit too much to ask for. That's where someone like Bumrah could have been handy for India but a back injury has ruled him out of the T20 World Cup.
There is a three-way battle going on at the moment among Mohammed Shami, Deepak Chahar - both on the standby list of players - and Mohammed Siraj to replace Bumrah in India's World Cup. Shami, because of his experience and pace appears to be the frontrunner. He perhaps would have been officially named by now had a bout with Covid-19 just a couple of weeks ago hadn't hampered his fitness.
But can Shami have the same sort of impact as Bumrah? Remember, new-ball bowling, which is Shami's fortay in shortest format of the game, is not India's worry.
Legendary South Africa pacer Dale Steyn said it would be tough to replace someone like Bumrah and India will 'miss him tremendously' in the World Cup starting October 16.
“It's a tough one. You can hope that the World Cup brings an opportunity for somebody to kind of be better than they actually are sometimes. They perform way better than they normally would. So, whoever takes his place, I hope that would be the case for them. Whoever gets selected, You probably want them to raise their game by a small percentage because of the hole that they are filling. Somebody like Bumrah, it's so difficult to fill his place. He is such a world-class player. India will miss him tremendously in this World Cup," said Steyn on Star Sports show 'Cricket Live'.
Bumrah suffered a back injury barely a couple of matches after making a comeback to the Indian side in the home series against Australia.
“There were really small signs of concern, because when Jasprit Bumrah did not play the first match, then he played the second game, and then suddenly, he was rested. You suddenly start to think whether this is serious, because he had been out on rest and rehab for a long time and he was somebody who was given a task of strengthening. It comes as a huge blow because an Indian attack without Jasprit Bumrah means that a lot of teams will start thinking differently as to how they would approach their batting against the Indian bowling attack. So, a huge blow for India, but again, in sport, one man's loss is another man's opportunity. Hopefully, maybe a Deepak Chahar or Shami or Arshdeep can be there and leave a mark on the World Cup Down Under,: said former India batting Sanjay Bangar.
