NEW DELHI: India’s Champions Trophy campaign suffered a major setback with Jasprit Bumrah’s withdrawal due to a back injury, leaving their bowling attack looking vulnerable. His replacement, Harshit Rana, is a promising but inexperienced pacer who recently debuted in the ODI series against England.
With Arshdeep Singh yet to prove himself in the 50-over format and Mohammed Shami still regaining full match fitness after injury, India’s pace attack appears significantly weakened.
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Former England cricketer and commentator David Lloyd expressed concern over Bumrah’s absence and India’s ability to cope without their premier bowler.
“You are going to miss him (Bumrah). You can’t get away from the fact that the best bowler in the world isn’t playing, then you’ve got a problem,” Lloyd told TalkSPORT.
Lloyd also questioned Arshdeep Singh’s readiness to lead India’s ODI attack, pointing out the challenges of the longer format.
“If you are the opposition, test him out, really get into him,” he said. “This is not T20, this is not a little party. You’ve got to come back and come back again, and that is something he won’t be used to. If you are the opposition, you try and play on that, let’s see what he’s got.”
Despite his inexperience, Arshdeep impressed in the recent ODI against England in Ahmedabad, picking up 2/33 in five overs. However, as Team India gears up for their opening Champions Trophy match against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai, their bowling depth remains a major concern.
