Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma believes India dearly missed the services of their ace fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami in the Asia Cup. While Bumrah was ruled out of the tournament with a back injury, the selectors didn’t pick Shami in the squad.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, and Arshdeep Singh were selected as the pace battery of the team. Kumar, who was the team’s pack leader, didn’t have the best run in the tournament as he conceded 19 runs against Pakistan in the penultimate over and he was taken for 14 runs in the 19th over against Sri Lanka in the Super Four stage.
Meanwhile, it is well known that Jasprit Bumrah is regarded as one of the best T20 bowlers in the world as he is mostly right on the money with his line and length.
Shami, on the other hand, is known to swing the ball both ways in the PowerPlay overs but he could be expensive in the death overs. Shami had scalped 20 wickets in 16 matches for Gujarat Titans and he had played a key role in the success of the franchise in IPL 2022.
However, Shami had last played for the national team in the 2021 T20 World Cup in the shortest format of the game.
Rajkumar Sharma said while talking to India News Sports, “We banked on youngsters to do the job for us in the Asia Cup and Arshdeep Singh was impressive. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was inconsistent and needs to have a look at his death bowling again.
“In a tournament like the T20 World Cup you definitely need experienced and wicket-taking bowlers and India dearly missed the services of Bumrah and Shami.”
On the other hand, former Delhi player backed the selection of Mohammad Shami in the T20 World Cup squad. Shami has all the experience under his belt and he can certainly add value to the team.
“Shami should have definitely been picked by Team India for the Asia Cup, especially when they didn’t have Jasprit Bumrah. He is experienced as well as has shown in the IPL that he has genuine wicket-taking ability.
“I hope he gets a chance in the coming series and if he does well, he can become a contender for a spot in the T20 World Cup squad.”
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah will return to the T20 World Cup squad. Sharma reckons it will be imperative for these players to play against Australia and South Africa to prove their match fitness.
“They (Bumrah and Harshal) will definitely need to play the Australia and South Africa series because there is a protocol that you need to prove that you’re match-fit. It will also be interesting to see how they shape up because you are always cautious on your comeback that the injury shouldn’t recur. But there is no doubt on their selection if they’re fully fit.”
