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Former India captain Anil Kumble feels that the team’s constant experimentation over the past year and a half has helped build strong depth in their T20 squad. According to him, India’s decision to use part-time bowling options has added balance and flexibility to the side. Notably, India started experimenting with the T20I side after Gautam Gambhir was appointed as head coach in 2024.
At the moment, India have five main bowlers, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel. Along with them, Shivam Dube has been used as a sixth bowling option. Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma can also chip in with an over if needed.
However, Dube’s bowling numbers in this T20 World Cup haven’t been impressive. In 9.2 overs, he has given away 124 runs at an economy rate of 13.28, though he has managed to take five wickets.
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Kumble on India's experimentation
Kumble said India had done the right thing by encouraging their batters to bowl during the last 18 months. He pointed out that in various T20 matches leading up to the World Cup, players like Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma and Dube were given overs. Even Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav bowled at times.
"They certainly did all the right things to get the batters to bowl a bit through the previous World Cup to now. If you look at the last 18 months, where India played T20 cricket, where they've won every single game, Tilak Varma got to bowl, Abhishek Sharma got to bowl, and Dube got to bowl. Then even Rinku Singh bowled, even Suryakumar Yadav bowled," Kumble said as per ESPNcricinfo.
Kumble believes this approach has given India extra bowling options going into a big tournament. Having multiple part-time bowlers can be useful, especially in high-pressure matches where flexibility becomes important.
Kumble's warning for India
At the same time, he admitted that bowling could still be challenging on flat pitches. Ideally, he said, India would prefer the comfort of playing eight batters instead of going in with just seven batters and five specialist bowlers.
"So in that sense, you have options, and that's great. But on a flat pitch, there will be challenges. India would ideally want the comfort of playing eight batters, rather than going in with seven batters and five specialist bowlers." Kumble added.
India recently cleared a major hurdle by beating Zimbabwe by 72 runs in a must-win game. They will now face the West Indies in a crucial match to decide the remaining semi-final spot from the group, alongside South Africa.
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