T20 World Cup: Dale Steyn backs Mohammed Shami as Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement in India’s squad
The T20 World Cup down under is just a couple of weeks away and India are still mulling over the replacement of their star pacer Jasprit Bumrah who is ruled out of the mega event courtesy of a back injury. While the Indian team management has not announced any replacements yet, the likes of Mohammed Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Deepak Chahar, and Umran Malik are in contention to replace the speedster in the squad. Meanwhile, former South African pacer Dale Steyn has picked Mohammed Shami as the right candidate to replace Jasprit Bumrah in India’s T20 World Cup squad.
India’s death bowling has come under the scanner heavily in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah recently. The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshal Patel have proved very expensive at death. Now, in the absence of a quality death specialist like Bumrah, India need someone experienced to lead the Indian bowling unit in the Australian conditions.
Dale Steyn puts his weight behind Mohammed Shami for the T20 World Cup
The legendary Proteas pacer has clearly mentioned Shami as the perfect replacement for injured Bumrah in the Indian squad. While speaking his mind on Star Sports Network ahead of the first ODI between India and South Africa, Steyn said,
“Once the opposition hears that Jasprit Bumrah is unavailable, they all breathe a sigh of relief. He’s such a wonderful bowler. His execution of skills is on point and India rely heavily on him. As a replacement, I would look at someone who can qualify with similar experience. Mohammed Shami is probably the guy I would go with. He’s been around the world, he can swing the ball and he can bowl quickly when he wants to.”
He further added that despite all the quality India currently have in their bowling attack and all the variety they have, Mohammed Shami is still their best pace bowler.
“You’ve got a bunch of other guys as well. You’ve got Deepak who has got swing, Siraj who has got skills, and Avesh has some good pace. But I think the top of the pile would be Shami, If he’s fully fit, he’s somebody the opposition do fear,” Dale Steyn added.
The Indian squad has already left for Australia without the replacement of Jasprit Bumrah. Meanwhile, the BCCI is likely to announce the replacement for their star bowler soon.
