Mohammed Shami can replace Jasprit Bumrah in T20 World Cup: Ex-BCCI selector

“Plus, with this kind of experience, you need somebody at the top who can pick you wickets and you’ve seen Mohammed Shami in the last Indian T20 league, he’s such a bowler who can pick wickets with the new ball in the power play and India needs that. So, if Mohammed Shami can pick up early wickets with the new ball, that’s the kind of start India would need while defending the target or while trying to restrict the opposition from setting a huge target.”

He further spoke about India’s bowling performance in the death overs. “Yeah, it does. With the new ball, you do have some viable options. You have Bhuvneshwar Kumar, now what we saw in the last game, Arshdeep Singh can step up. We also have someone like Mohammed Shami. But to bowl in the death overs especially under pressure, you need someone who’s aware of his abilities and he bowls according to that. So, in that sense, without Jasprit Bumrah, the other bowlers they really need to step up and do the job for India. That may not be so easy.”

Mohammed Siraj will replace the injured Jasprit Bumrah for the remaining two T20I matches against South Africa, the BCCI said in a statement on Friday.