I would not call Mohammed Shami a perfect replacement for Jasprit Bumrah, says Suresh Raina
I would not call Md Shami a perfect replacement for Jasprit Bumrah, says Suresh Raina
Mohammed Shami bowled only the last over during India's narrow six-run win over Australia in their warm-up encounter ahead, in Brisbane on Monday (October 17),of the main draw of the T20 World Cup. Shami, who was drafted into the Indian team as a replacement for injured Jasprit Bumrah, didn't field for the first 19 overs, with Aussies chasing a competitive 187 set by Rohit Sharma & Co.,and came onto bowl the last six balls, returning with 1-0-4-3.
Shami looks set to be part of India's T20 WC opening fixture, where they will play Pakistan at the iconic MCG, Melbourne on October 23. Before that, the experienced pacer will like to bowl his full qouta of overs in India's remaining warm-up tie, where they face New Zealand on Wednesday (October 19). Filling in for Bumrah, Shami has a herculean task ahead -- having last played a T20I during the last year's World Cup in the UAE -- but looks set for the challenge.
Ahead of the Super 12 round of the T20 WC, former Indian all-rounder Suresh Raina made a bold claim. Hefeels Shami isn't a perfect replacement for Bumrah because players like him are rare.
"I would not call him a perfect replacement because you cannot replace Jasprit Bumrah or Ravindra Jadeja. They have played consistently for India and they have given performances," Raina told NDTV.
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Raina, however, was quick to point out that Shami was the best choice among the other contenders to take a vacant spotin the Indian squad following Bumrah's back injury. "But the best option you had, you have selected him. Shami has given good performances, he has been in good form. BCCI have done really well in sending the team to Australia 15 days prior to the tournament. The grounds are big, overall I think the preparation has been nice. We will need to play fearless cricket and show good intent," he added.
India's final 15-man squad for T20 World Cup 2022:
Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, RAshwin, YuzvendraChahal, Axar Patel, Md Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh
Standby players -Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Shardul Thakur, Md Siraj