Right after the T20 World Cup win, Mohammed Siraj had unknowingly, come up with a statement that couldn’t be closer to reality. “I’m only believe in Jassi Bhai, because he is game changer,” an ecstatic pacer had remarked. Cut to the 4th Test of IND vs AUS series Down Under, entire India, and even skipper Rohit Sharma seems to believe in ‘Jassi Bhai’ only.
One-man Army, Jasprit Bumrah
In the entire series, Jasprit Bumrah has emerged as the work horse like no other. In the 4 Tests, he has bowled 116 overs already, picking up 24 wickets, at an average of 13, strike-rate of 29, with 31 maidens. These are the figures of a truly remarkable bowler, who is carrying the hopes of the entire Indian team, alone.
Of course, there is Siraj in the ranks too — who too has picked up 13 wickets in 4 Tests, but truth be told, he has been mighty expensive, and largely ineffective. So much so, that his bowling has looked flat for most part of the series. In these matches, in the 104 overs he bowled, he gave away 426 runs — 100 more than Bumrah, at an average of 33, and an economy rate of 4.08.
Mohammed Siraj Ineffective, Team Missing Mohammed Shami
That just goes on to show, how India is doomed in this IND vs AUS series, without any other world-class bowler, in the absence of Mohammed Shami. After all, in eight Tests Down Under, Shami has picked up 31 wickets, at an economy of 3.55, and would have been a perfect support bowler for Bumrah.
But then, his unavailability has opened up a massive gap in the pace bowling department, in the Test matches. Other Indian pacers in these Tests haven’t been any great either. Akash Deep, in two matches has five wickets, and leaked runs too. In his 60 overs, he leaked over 200 runs, and at an average of 42. Harshit Rana, despite bowling well in Perth, was poor in Adelaide, and has four wickets in two matches at an average of 50.
Nitish Kumar Reddy has been poor too. In four matches, with three wickets at an average of 48, he has raised several doubts over his selection for the Sydney Test. Now, it seems the time has come for Team India management to draft in a tall pacer like Prasidh Krishna, who can complement Jasprit Bumrah well, and hope to end over-reliance on the latter.
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