Former Australian coach John Buchanan gives a unique suggestion on how to fill ‘Bumrah’s void’ for the World Cup

Jasprit Bumrah: (Image Source: Twitter)

Indian team have only one warm-up game left against New Zealand before they take on Pakistan to start their 20-20 World Cup 2022 campaign on 23rd October 2022. There is no denying that India have a strong batting unit. 

They have got quality batters in their team but the same cannot be said about the bowling unit. The absence of Jasprit Bumrah is likely to hurt them badly. 

The Men in Blue have got the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Arshdeep Singh to name a few, who are expected to fill Bumrah’s void. However, looking at Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh’s performance in the past couple of months, one is unsure whether they will be able to live up to the expectations of the fans in a big tournament. 

Mohammed Shami made his return to the T20 side after a long gap and straightaway made an impact with his last over heroics against Australia. Whether would he be able to continue to deliver such performances remains to be seen. 

In the absence of Bumrah, India’s bowling is definitely a big worry for the team and amidst that former Australian coach John Buchanan said that India’s batting unit must take the extra responsibility to fill that void. 

"Jasprit is a world-class bowler and not very easily replaced at all. So that will affect the way they use their bowlers. But generally, like this warm-up game is showing, Brisbane's a very good one-day wicket. And with games at night, I think most teams will be up around 170-180. And in a place like Brisbane often you need to get over 200 to feel like you've got a reasonable total on the board and one that you can defend.

“So when I look at the Indian side, they just have this exciting batting talent. And I think if they back their ability consistently through the time, then that may indeed compensate for the loss of Bumrah and maybe a bit of the inexperience of some of their bowlers that haven't been here before,” the former Australia coach said.

India are slated to play their next warm-up match against New Zealand on Wednesday.