3 Players to replace Jasprit Bumrah in India's T20 World Cup 2022 squad

With Jasprit Bumrah officially ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2022, the Indian management has a tough task to narrow down on their pace attack.

By Roshan Gede Oct 3, 2022, 21:39 IST

Mohammed Shami?width=963&height=541&resizemode=4

Mohammed Shami is the front-runner to replace Bumrah in India’s main squad.

India have suffered a major setback ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022, with their premier quick Jasprit Bumrah being officially ruled out of the competition with back injury. Bumrah, who leads India’s fast-bowling attack across formats, leaves a major void, that of a genuine wicket-taker at any given stage of the game and being an extremely challenging bowler to score freely against.

BCCI confirms Bumrah is ruled out of #T20WorldCup #T20WC2022 https://t.co/SlZelN23UU
— CricXtasy (@CricXtasy) October 3, 2022

India have Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel as the frontline seamers in their squad to go with the services of all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

Here’s a look at the possible players who can replace Bumrah in India’s T20 World Cup squad:

Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami was named one of the four reserves for the T20 World Cup, alongside Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi, and is perhaps the frontrunner to replace Bumrah. Shami was a part of India’s squad at the T20 World Cup in each of the last three editions, but couldn’t quite recreate the magic of his exploits in the longer versions. Much like Bumrah, Shami too, can deliver at any given stage in the game, and he showcased that earlier this year, bagging 20 wickets while maintaining an impressive economy of 8 in Gujarat Titans’ IPL 2022 winning campaign. He was back in the nets after having recovered from covid-19 recently, and that presents great signs for India.

ALSO READ: Why India can't go back to Mohammed Shami in T20Is

Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj has been looked at as a possible replacement to Bumrah, and could be a valuable addition with his seam and swing. The memories of brilliance in the country in India’s historic Test series win in 2020/21 can only inspire confidence. However, the right-arm quick hasn’t quite left a mark in T20I cricket, with just five wickets from as many games at an economy of 10.45. In the IPL earlier this year, Siraj, who was retained by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ahead of the mega-auctions, could manage just nine wickets from 15 matches while conceding runs at 10.07.

Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar is already among the four standby players, and has pushed a case for selection in the main squad following his impressive returns in the first two T20Is of the ongoing home series against South Africa. He returned 2/24 in India’s eight-wicket win in the first T20I, setting it up brilliantly against Temba Bavuma in the first over of the game, and followed that up with 0/24 in Guwahati, while delivering the only maiden on a day when a staggering 458 runs were scored across the two innings. Apart from his skills with the new ball, Chahar can also be effective at death, as he has shown for the Chennai Super Kings in the past. His 6/7 against Bangladesh in Nagpur in 2019 are the second best returns in T20Is (best among full-member nations), during which, he also bagged the only hattrick by an Indian in the format till date. Chahar, who averages 60 from six ODI innings with two fifties, can also be highly resourceful with the bat lower down the order.