Team India will square off against Australia in the second T20I on September 22 (Thursday) in Nagpur. The defending T20 World Cup champions defeated India by four wickets in the first T20I in Mohali. Indian bowlers failed to defend a score of 208/6 against Australia in the first T20I in Mohali on September 20 (Tuesday). In 2022, Indian bowlers have struggled to stem the flow of runs in death overs. As a result, India have consistently failed to defend targets. Apart from Arshdeep Singh, all Indian fast bowlers have an economy rate of more than 10 in T20Is in 2022.
In an exclusive chat with Sports Tak, former India captain and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar underlines India's weakness that has persisted from a longtime in T20Is, particularly in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah.
"This is India's weakness. This isn't a new problem. It has existed for a few years now that when they are defending, they find it difficult without Jasprit Bumrah. When Bumrah is there, the score can be defended but without him, they give away even 200-plus totals. Having said that, we need to look at the solution for it. Else, going forward, it may hurt them," Gavaskar said.
Talking about Bumrah's fitness and his importance to the national side, Gavaskar said that the management doesn't want to take any chances with an 'important member' of the side.
"About his (Bumrah's) fitness, I feel that since he is such an important member of the team, the team management wants him to be entirely fit and only then he be picked in India's XI. Maybe he will play in Nagpur," he said.
"But here is the thing. When the Indian team is chasing a target, they win matches. But it's the opposite the other way around. The bowling that is needed between overs 16 and 20, they still don't have it. This is the reason that team is ending up on the losing side," the former India captain added.
