"I would pick..."- Ravi Shastri suggests India's best pace bowling attack for T20 World Cup 2022
The mega event for the T20 internationals is just a couple of months away. Every team, including the defending champions, Australia, wants to stake a claim for the trophy.India is among the favourites going into the ICC event, but it can only be possible with the right team combination.
Since the early exit from the last T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE, India has experimented and made wholesome changes in the team. They have tried many players in this time period to find the right combination for the mega event. Because after a horrible show in the last World Cup, the Indian thinktank didn't want to leave anything.
That is why we have seen so many changes in terms of the captain, openers, middle-order batters, spinners, and fast bowlers. But one thing is for sure: India has a good headache of plenty. In fact, they have got so many options to choose from that it will be another difficult task for the management.
Although India has got some good players, it will still be very hard to pick a 15-member squad. In particular, in the pace bowling department, India has tried a total of 12–13 fast bowlers since the last world cup. However, they must determine which three bowlers will be named to the playing XI.
Former Indian head coach, Ravi Shastri, has shared his opinion on the first three-choice pacers. Notably, Shastri was the head coach at the last World Cup and stepped down from the post after the conclusion of the ICC event. And because he knows the conditions in Australia and the ability of Indian bowlers, his suggestions can be very useful going forward.
In a discussion on Fan Code, the former head coach said that Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be his first choice pacers, and he has picked Hardik Pandya as the seam-bowling all-rounder in the team. He picked two pacers for the third and fourth seamers in the squad.
Shastri said, "In Australia, left-armers normally do a good job. There is bounce and the angle that he [Arshdeep Singh] creates. "If there are four pacers picked there, I would pick three right-armers, one left-armer and one all-rounder, which is Hardik Pandya. Jasprit (Bumrah) and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) are certainties, and I feel (Mohammed) Shami will get the nod."
The former coach has named Bumrah, Bhuvi, and Shami as the first three pacers and Hardik as the bowling all-rounder. However, he has also given a chance to Arshdeep and said that if India go with four pacers, the left-armer can get a chance, as he brings a totally different skillset to the table.