Ex-skipper and former chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar strongly believes that the pacy Indian bowler Umran Malik should be called up for the T20 World Cup squad ahead of Mohammed Siraj, who was called up to take the injured Jasprit Bumrah's place in the squad for the T20I series against South Africa.
Vengsarkar opened up on why the young Umran deserves to be part of the World Cup squad. He believes that his express pace which will come in handy on the pitches of Australia. The former cricketer also added that the Indian selectors should not delay his return to the team before his 150kph pace drops down to 135kph.
"There is no out-of-the-box thinking. I would have picked Umran Malik because of his speed. He is a guy who is bowling 150kmph; you've got to pick him now, you can't pick him when he becomes a 130kmph bowler. In Dubai, where the wicket was flat and grassless, where there was no bounce, you needed fast bowlers. If you had medium pacers, you would be tonked around. You needed fast bowlers who could beat the batters in pace," Vengsarkar told Sportstar.
The exit of India’s two premier players Ravindra Jadeja and Bumrah also opens the door to come back for Shreyas Iyer and Mohammad Shami, who the former selector is impressed by and believes should be on the plane to Australia. “ Shreyas Iyer is in good form and he missed out. Mohammed Shami and Shubman Gill should also be on the team. I am impressed with Gill," he added.
India, after declaring that their T20 World Cup squad have been marred with players sustaining injuries before the marquee event in October-November, forced them to tweak the squad. This huge shakeup comes after the injuries of Jadeja (knee) and Bumrah (back), ruling the two key players out of the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.
As their injuries keep them on the sidelines to recover, team India are left rummaging for the best replacements for the two players. Rumours have it that Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Shami are the two players who will fill their shoes but the announcement from the BCCI naming Mohammed Siraj as Bumrah’s replacement for the T20I series against South Africa is an indication of the footprint that the selection committee is planning to take.
