Ashish Nehra, the former Indian fast bowler and the new head coach of Gujarat Titans, is unable to understand why the Indian selectors have picked Jasprit Bumrah for the ongoing T20I series against Sri Lanka. Bumrah was rested for the limited over games against West Indies but was brought back into the set-up for the Sri Lanka T20Is.
According to Ashish Nehra, two test matches against Sri Lanka are going to be played after the T20 internationals and Bumrah should have been selected for those games, because in the T20 internationals, India could have tried other bowlers.
The likes of Mohammed Siraj and Avesh Khan had a good IPL last season and they have been in the Indian T20I squad regularly after the last T20 World Cup, but they haven’t got many games to play. The Indian management could have given them more opportunities in the games against Sri Lanka, rather than bringing Bumrah back.
If Bumrah is in the squad, he will be in the playing XI: Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra, while speaking on Cricbuzz, said once Bumrah is picked in the squad, he will definitely walk into the playing XI because he is a big player and he can’t be benched. If he walks into the XI, it comes at the cost of another bowler who might have got a few opportunities ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Since the time Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have taken over the Indian think tank as the captain and the coach respectively, there has been an emphasis to play the fast bowlers who can bat as well and that’s why Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Deepak Chahar have played ahead of Siraj and Avesh.
Rohit has clearly stated in his pre-and post-match interviews that he is looking to add to the batting depth by picking bowlers who can bat. However, Jasprit Bumrah is still a certainty in the XI and his selection has nothing to do with his batting credentials.
