Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria feels Team India‘s injury concerns are because they make their star players, especially fast bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, play every single IPL game.
Bumrah played all 14 games for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2022 season, despite the last 5-6 games being dead rubbers as they had already been knocked out of the playoffs race. Kaneria feels Bumrah should have been rested as there was simply no point playing him.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Danish Kaneria explained how pacers like Mitchell Starc are skipping the IPL and how giving priority to their country is the right way to go ahead. He said:
“Mitchell Starc didn’t play the IPL and kept him fit and ready for the World Cup. This is called a national priority. A big bowler like Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t available in the Asia Cup and that made a huge difference.
“He is not available for the World Cup too and so I feel they should reduce the number of IPL games and give them as much rest as possible in dead rubbers.”
“It takes a bit of time to get into your rhythm” – Danish Kaneria on India’s Mohammed Shami
India’s experienced pacer Mohammed Shami has left for Australia and seems to be the front-runner to be announced as Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement.
However, Kaneria opined that it was probably better to look at someone like Mohammed Siraj since Shami hasn’t played competitive cricket for a long time.
Shami last played international cricket in July 2022. His last T20I outing for the Men in Blue was in November 2021.
On this, he stated:
“Experience and all is fine, but Mohammed Shami hasn’t played competitive cricket for a long time. No matter how big a bowler you are, it takes a bit of time to get into your rhythm. It will be interesting to see how he shapes up in the training sessions once he reaches Australia, but I feel Siraj will be the 15th player.”
Who should replace Bumrah in India’s T20 World Cup squad? Let us know in the comments.
