Just a few months ago, India’s death bowling looked in the best of form with Bumrah and Harshal Patel taking care of things at the death very nicely. Bhuvneshwar Kumar too looked in fine form. Shami was breathing fire with the ball. And then it all happened. Injuries to Bumrah and Harshal, Shami losing form and then also getting injured.
And now nothing is the same again. And we are just weeks away from the World Cup and India’s steady ship now seems to have a big hole. And with Bumrah getting injured, the hole seems like it is getting bigger.
Last night David Miller smashed 106 runs from 47 balls. India got out of the Asia Cup also due to their bad bowling and now the problems seem to have worsened. Yes, India did have a great outing with the ball in the first T20I but when they were defeating a target of 238 runs in a 20-over game, winning by a margin of 16 runs is not just acceptable for a side that is looking to win the world cup.
India just has one legit T20 game in hand before they face Pakistan on the 23rd of October. Bumrah is out of the world cup with an injury. Bhuvi is struggling with the ball at the death quite badly. Harshal Patel is leaking runs and he does not look like himself after his injury. And now even Arshdeep took some serious hammering at the hand of David Miller at the death. India’s last two overs in the 2nd T20I went for 26 and 20 runs.
Now Deepak Chahar is not a death bowler. He is someone who will bowl most of his overs in the power play. Arshdeep and Harshal will have to find the answers for team India at the death. Bhuvi has been rested for this series. But will he be able to find some form at the World Cup when it matters the most?
Will his experience come into play?
Shami has now recovered from covid and he should be one of the names that captain Rohit Sharma will be looking to mend the ship.
The pitches in Australia are quite different from the ones most of these bowlers are used to. Considering how fastthe game is moving and how much accuracy is required at the end, Team India have a hearculean task of finding some big answers for their death bowling woes.
Who do you think should be the ideal replacement for Jasprit Bumrah?
Do let us know in the comments below.
