Jasprit Bumrah‘s injury has shaken up the Indian cricketing spectrum, with former cricketers, fans, pundits, etc. expressing their opinions on the impact the pacer’s absence could have on the team’s T20 World Cup chances. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to officially announce the name of Bumrah’s replacement, although there are rumours that Mohammed Shami is the top candidate to take his spot in India’s 15-man roster for the showpiece event in Australia.
Though there’s no denying Shami’s class, the fact that he hasn’t played a single T20I international since the T20 World Cup last year is being seen as a huge concern. Former India cricketer-turned-pundit Aakash Chopra has questioned why Shami wasn’t even a part of the Indian squad in the Asia Cup 2022 despite being a back-up for T20 World Cup 2022.
“Bumrah missed the tour to WI and Asia Cup…and if Shami was indeed the best option to replace Bumrah (in case, he didn’t make it) then he should have been a part of the Asia Cup at the very least. India went with only 3 fast bowlers. And paid for it,” Chopra wrote on Twitter.
Bumrah missed the tour to WI and Asia Cup…and if Shami was indeed the best option to replace Bumrah (in case, he didn’t make it) then he should have been a part of the Asia Cup at the very least. India went with only 3 fast bowlers. And paid for it. #AakashVani
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 4, 2022
The magnitude of Bumrah’s absence is huge and there aren’t many like-for-like replacements available for the pacer. As far as the sand-by list goes, Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Shami are the two options that can be brought into the team.
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Chahar, however, has more similarities with Bhuvneshwar Kumar than Bumrah. Hence, Shami seems to be an ideal fit as a replacement of Bumrah.
As far as India’s bowling composition goes, the selectors have picked a total of 3 front-line spinners for the T20 World Cup in the 15-man roster. They are: R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel. In terms of pacers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh are the 4 names to have been included in the squad while a replacement of Bumrah is yet to be picked.
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