Former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson has expressed his concern about India’s chosen bowling line-up for the World Cup. The team announced on Tuesday, that it has Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel as the pacers. What may go wrong with such a lethal pace-attack, one would ask. Well, the prolific Australian pacer Johnson has explained the “what” part.
Johnson has opined that it is a risky move on India’s part to go ahead in the marquee event with just four pacers in the squad. BCCI has kept seamer Mohammad Shami and Deepak Chahar as the standbys. The Indian squad apart from Bumrah, Kumar, Singh and Patel have spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravi Ashwin in the line-up.
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Our squad 💪🏻#TeamIndia | #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/Dw9fWinHYQ— BCCI (@BCCI) September 12, 2022
Other than that, it is upon the all-rounder Hardik Pandya to take the mantle of pace bowling if the situation demands. And as explained by Mitchell Johnson, this could be a threat for India on the bouncy pitches of Australia.
“If you got an all-rounder (fast bowling) and a couple of spinners, four fast bowlers it is a bit of a risk. But India is probably looking at playing two pacers and an all-rounder (Hardik Pandya) and two spinners,” Johnson said.
“In Australia you surely need to play three fast bowlers, possibly four in certain conditions, for example Perth. I guess they have a plan going in, but it is a bit of a risk if you only take four (pacers),” he explained. “The main thing in Australia is the extra bounce and pace and adjusting your length, you can get carried away and bowl a bit too short,” he added.
Coming from the Asia Cup, India just witnessed the consequences of facing a dearth of pacers in the team. With Bumrah and Patel injured, India was left at the aide of just Bhuvneshwar and Arshdeep. Avesh Khan also made an exit from the mid facing an injury. And the absence of seamers toned down India’s attack.
Was it the right decision not to include Mohammad Shami in the upcoming T20 World Cup squad? 👀#MohammadShami #CricketTwitter #India #TeamIndia #T20WorldCup2022 pic.twitter.com/A34m50LS0c
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) September 12, 2022
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And the apparent scenario made the cricket fans question the absence of Mohammad Shami. Social media blazed criticizing the team selection, especially focusing on ignoring Shami even in the absence of Bumrah. Now, the BCCI has included Shami, however, merely as a stand-by. Consequently, the decision still stands conflicted on the internet. And as it seems, Johnson has provided an inkling of relevancy to the conflict through his latest remarks.
