Highlights
- Mohammed Shami is at the NCA and is recovering from COVID
- Mohd. Siraj was roped in as Jasprit Bumrah's replacement in the South Africa series
- India will play their first World Cup match against Pakistan on October 23, 2022 at the MCG
T20 World Cup 2022: Even before team India could board the flight to Australia, their preparations have taken a major hit with Jasprit Bumrah being ruled out of the multi-nation cricketing event. The uncertainty around Bumrah and his fitness lingered around for a long time but on Monday, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) put an end to all the speculations as they ruled the speedster out. Since then, there has been anticipation surrounding Jasprit Bumrah's replacement.
Team India just finished their three-match T20I series against South Africa and they emerged victorious with a scoreline of 2-1. The Indian team management had roped in Mohd. Siraj as Bumrah's replacement for this particular series but are yet to name his replacement for the T20 World Cup. India are scheduled to board the flight to Australia on October 6, 2022, and will take on Pakistan on October 23, 2022, which happens to be their first game in the marquee cricketing event. After the South Africa series concluded, India's head coach Rahul Dravid was asked whether Mohammed Shami was likely to replace Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian squad.
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Head Coach Rahul Dravid said:
We still need to closely observe the resources that we have at our disposal. In terms of who the replacement will be, we are still not sure. We have time till October 15 and luckily for us, we already have Shami in the standbys. Due to his medical conditions, he obviously couldn't play for us in the South Africa and Australia series. Shami is at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) at the moment and we will have to get reports on how he is recovering and what his status actually is after 14-15 days of COVID. We will take a call once we have received his report. We just expect him to keep things simple and play good cricket.
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Team India defeated Australia and South Africa in consecutive series, but it does not overshadow the fact that India's bowling, especially their death bowling looks extremely mediocre. Owing to their dismal bowling performances in the Asia Cup, India crashed out of the all-important Asia Cup. Things worsened when both Australia and South Africa visited India for three-match T20I series. The batting certainly has been a savior for India as it has bailed them out of tough situations on many occasions.
