Former Pakistani cricketer Danish Kaneria pointed out the mistake that India made while selecting their squad for the ongoing Asia Cup 2022. He highlighted that in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel, the Rohit Sharma-led squad should’ve picked experienced Mohammad Shami in the side.
India’s woes with the bowling continued as they suffer a 5-wicket loss to Pakistan
Following their defeat against Pakistan in the Super 4 stage of the tournament, the Indian team has suffered a lot of criticism for their squad selection. While they have a power-packed batting line-up, bowling is something that has been concerning for them.
Ahead of the Asia Cup, India suffered a big blow as Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel were ruled out of the tournament due to injuries. This prompted the Indian team to pick only three pacers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan with Hardik Pandya being the pace-bowling all-rounder.
It’s fair to say that India’s pace attack has struggled to get going and in almost every match they have played so far, either one or two bowlers have struggled in each match.
Really Missing The Legend Mohammad Shami 😔… He is So Calm At this Situations And Go with The basics… I Don't Know Why @BCCI Drop Him .. #Shami #MohammadShami … #BCCI
— Avadh (@Avadh2908) September 4, 2022
Ahead of the game against Pakistan in Super 4s, Avesh Khan was deemed unfit to play as he was unwell, leaving India with only Bhuvneshwar and Arshdeep in the side. Their bowling yet against failed as they suffered a 5-wicket loss to their arch-rivals.
Danish Kaneria feels India doesn’t have a wicket-taker in the middle
For them to qualify now, they have to win all their games. They are next slated to play Sri Lanka on Tuesday (2nd September) and with their bowling attack under pressure, it’ll not be easy for them to qualify for the final.
Danish Kaneria feels that India needed the experience of Shami in the middle. Speaking to Star Sports he said:
“Sri Lanka have performed incredibly well in their last two games and we all know Afghanistan can be dangerous on their day. So they can’t be written off. India knew Harshal and Bumrah were unavailable. So they should have added the experience of Shami instead of Avesh. You need a wicket-taker in middle-overs which you don’t have at the moment.”
"India know Bumrah and Harshal are injured, should have picked Mohammad Shami instead of Avesh" – Said Danish Kaneria (@DanishKaneria61)
— IPLnCricket | Everything 'Cricket' & #IPL2023 🏏 (@IPLnCricket) September 5, 2022
India would be hoping to regroup as soon as possible before their game against Sri Lanka on Tuesday (6th September). A loss now would mean that they will likely be eliminated from the tournament.
