Although India lost the final T20I against South Africa, they sealed the three-match series 2-0. The Men in Blue will now host the visitors for a three-match ODI series. However, a secondary line-up will be in action as the main guns will fly to Australia in order to prepare for the T20 World Cup.
While Rohit Sharma-led side have covered most of the areas ahead of the marquee event, one big headache for them would be to find out the replacement of Jasprit Bumrah, who was ruled out of the tournament due to a back injury. Given his performances in recent years, it would be really tough to find a guy who can drop a similar impact on the results.
In the post-match presentation of the third T20I, captain Rohit Sharma was asked about possible names who could be seen taking Bumrah’s spot in the XI in the multi-nation event. However, Sharma said that they are yet to finalize the name and they will decide once they land in Australia where the tournament is going to happen.
“Bumrah is out of the World Cup, so we need to find a bowler who has the experience of bowling in Australia. Not sure who that bowler is going to be, we will see once we travel to Australia, we’ll find it out there,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
If we talk about possible names then one of Mohammed Shami, Deepak Chahar or Mohammed Siraj is likely to enter into the playing XI. While Shami and Chahar were named as reserved players, Siraj made a late entry post the injury to the ace pacer.
Speaking of individual characteristics, Shami is the most experienced bowler who can fill the void left by Bumrah. Deepak, on the other hand, is coming after dropping a brilliant performance in the T20I series against South Africa. Siraj was awarded a call provided his brilliance with the bat in red-ball cricket.
