India currently have a wealth of bowling options to choose from in all formats. Mohammed Shami recently gave a reminder of how effective he is as a limited overs bowler in India’s 2-1 ODI series win against England away from home while the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh also made an impact during the tour. Bhuvneshwar Kumar seems to have rediscovered his mojo while Jasprit Bumrah was as lethal as ever.
In addition to this, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal showed why he is considered one of the best limited overs spinners in the world by picking wickets in conditions that were often more conducive for the pacers. Former England captain Darren Gough has said that while he would consider Prasidh and Arshdeep as options, fiery fast bowler Umran Malik would be an automatic pick for him in the T20 World Cup later this year.
“Bumrah, I think he is the best all-format fast bowler in the world. He is your first pick, the golden pick. Bhuvneshwar Kumar comes in because of his skill with the new ball. He is really important to take early wickets, slows the momentum down. We have seen that throughout the England vs India series. So I think he has to be on there,” Gough said told cricket.com/tv Youtube channel.
“(Mohammed) Siraj has got good pace. I have been impressed with him when I saw him bowl in Australia and when I saw him in India. Then you’ve got Umran Malik. Anybody who bowls that speed gets into my squad. On the pitches in Australia, you might just need that extra bit of pace to shock the opposition.
“But India have got so many options, Shami is another player with so much skills with the new ball. Then there is Prasidh Krishna. There is plenty of options but I would have Umran Malik, Siraj, Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah,” he said.
Umran turned heads with his sheer pace in the 2022 IPL, regularly going past the 150kph mark. However, he has also gone for 112 runs in the three T20Is he has played thus far with a number of former players stating that the 22-year-old needs to add more variations in his arsenal to become a seasoned wicket taker.