'He can bowl quickly' - Dale Steyn names Jasprit Bumrah's replacement for T20 World Cup

BCCI, on Monday (October 03), officially ruled out Jasprit Bumrah from the forthcoming T20 World Cup, in Australia from October-November. Bumrah will miss the upcoming showpiece event Down Under due to a back stress fracture. It is to be noted that the 28-year-old pacer had earlier also missed the Asia Cup 2022 edition, due to back issues, but his absence in the ICC event will surelydent India's chances of lifting the title for the second time (after 2007).

Ever since the news broke out of Bumrah's ouster, it remains to be seen who will replace him in the main squad. Among the contenders, Mohammed Shami, Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Siraj remain the top three choices for India, to replace Bumrah. Amid all this, former South African speedster Dale Steyn reacted to Bumrah's omission and named his choice on who should fill in for the premier bowler.

“I'm sad and I feel for him (Bumrah). 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,” Steyn told Hindustan Times.

Steyn further went on to say that he has Shami's name written down as the top of the pile of Bumrah's replacements. "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 woud be Shami, I've got him written down here. If he's fully fit, he's somebody the opposition do fear. But India would be missing Bumrah for sure," he added.

Rohit Sharma-led India left for Australia soon after the end of their three-match T20I series, which concluded on Tuesday (October 04). India will open their campaign versus arch-rivals Pakistan on October 23 at the iconic MCG, Melbourne. They are placed in Pool B, along with Babar Azam-led Men in Green, South Africa, Bangladesh whereas two more teams will join them from the qualifiers, which gets underway on October 16.