India Squad T20 WC: Mohammad Shami has officially been named Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement in India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup squad on Friday. Shami has reached Australia and will link up with the squad in Brisbane ahead of the official ICC warm-up matches. The Uttar Pradesh-born pacer will now compete with Harshal Patel for the spot in the playing XI vs Pakistan. Men in Blue face Australia and New Zealand on October 17 and 19 respectively in warm-up matches. India captain Rohit Sharma will use these matches to decode the conundrum of death bowling. The spotlight will be on pacers Shami and Harshal Patel who will tussle it off for their spot in the playing XI. Follow India T20 World Cup live updates with InsideSport.IN
- The IND vs AUS warm-up match will start at 9:30 AM (IST) on Monday
- India play arch-rivals Pakistan in their tournament opener on October 23.
- India lost their second practice match against Western Australia XI on Thursday.
India Squad T20 WC: Mohammad Shami joins team in Brisbane, gets two matches to compete with Harshal Patel for place in Playing XI vs Pakistan, Check OUT
Also Read: India Squad T20 WC: Deepak Hooda, R Ashwin & Axar Patel in 3-way BATTLE to DECIDE 1 SLOT in Indian Playing XI for Pakistan (insidesport.in)
🚨 NEWS 🚨: Shami replaces Bumrah In India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Squad. #TeamIndia | #T20WorldCup
Details 🔽https://t.co/nVovMwmWpI
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 14, 2022
India Squad T20 WC: Mohammad Shami brings experience but fitness and form a big question
After the bowlers’ disappointing performance in the Asia Cup, Shami was added to the Indian team. The seasoned pacer was firstly chosen in the T20 World Cup squad as a reserve. Shami was regrettably unable to participate in India vs Australia series because of COVID-19. But since then he still hasn’t returned to the manifold.
Given that the player often needs some time following COVID to reach their optimum fitness, this is expected. But it’s not just about his physical condition; Shami hasn’t played for India in the shorter format since November 2021. His lack of foreign competition is a serious worry when you factor in the fitness aspect.
The two warm-up matches will help the team management to test fitness of Shami. There is no denying either player’s talent or skill set, but nowadays it goes beyond just their bowling prowess. It involves keeping fit over a longer length of time and performing at the top of their game. And these warm-up matches will exactly provide that to Shami.
MOHAMMAD SHAMI
- Brings in his experience
- Known for his wicket-taking ability
- Has that skiddy factor which can be an asset in Australia
- Can be a dangerous bowler with the new ball
Harshal Patel conundrum
Harshal Patel will be currently breathing easy as he made a fine comeback in India’s second warm-up match against Western Australia. He picked up two wickets for 27 runs. Patel was dismal, to say the least in the six matches against South Africa and Australia preceding this match. In the second warm-up match against Western Australia, the right-arm pacer shrugged off death-overs blues and helped India restrict them to 169.
In the 23 T20I matches, the 31-year-old has picked 26 wickets at an economy rate of nine runs. 17 of those wickets have come at the death overs. A similar kind of bowling display is what Rohit Sharma will be expecting from Harshal. But his topsy-curvy form has been a constant headache for the team.
India T20 WC Squad: Where is Harshal Patel going wrong?
- Harshal Patel shot to fame for his variations and deadly use of the slower ball.
- But it is the same weapon that has now become his major weak link.
- Harshal Patel has been smashed on his slower deliveries the most.
Harshal Patel with 40 runs or more in 2022:
- 0/46 (4) vs WI
- 1/52 (4) vs SL
- 1/43 (4) vs SA
- 1/54 (4) vs IRE
- 0/49 (4) vs AUS
- 0/45 (4) vs SA
- 0/49 (4) vs SA
- 1/49 (4) vs WA-XI
India squad for ICC T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami.
Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur will join Ravi Bishnoi as backups and will travel to Australia shortly.
