The much-awaited T20 World Cup is round the corner and the Rohit Sharma-led Team India is all set to face arch-rivals Pakistan in their campaign opener at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 23.
However, the Men In Blue will miss the services of its ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Deepak Chahar, who are now out of action due to injuries. In such a case, the Indian pace bowling unit’s hopes now completely relies on the shoulders of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh. Among the trio, Bhuvneshwar is the most experienced and will be leading the pace attack througout the campaign.
However, former Pakistan pace legend Wasim Akram has reckoned that Bhuvneshwar might struggle in the Australian conditions if the ball is not swinging and thus may not be as effective.
“India have Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he is good with the new ball, but with his pace, if the ball is not swinging, he will probably struggle there. But he is a very good bowler no doubt, swings both ways, has the yorker. But you need pace in Australia,” Akram was quoted as saying by Khaleej Times.
“You see that guy from Kashmir, Umran Malik, he is quick. India need to stick with him because he has got pace. If I was in the Indian think-tank, I would have picked him in the squad all the time,” he added.
Coming to the batting, the Pakistan great felt that in-form Suryakumar Yadav will play a crucial role amongst all the 32-year-old would be the dangerman for opposition teams.
“He is a very dangerous player, he is a 360 player. I saw him first time when he joined the Kolkata Knight Riders. I spent two years with him. I was amazed that the KKR let him go. He was young, he was 19 or 20 then, imagine, he would have been the (KKR) captain by now,” Wasim said.
“I think he is the future as far as the T20 format is concerned. He is a treat to watch, one of my favourite players in the format no doubt.”