“In Australia you surely need to play three fast bowlers”: Mitchell Johnson opines India should have included an extra pacer in their T20 World Cup squad

Mitchell Johnson opines India should have travelled Down Under for the World Cup with a fourth specialist fast bowler as well.

Former Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has remarked that three pacers are a must in a playing XI for any side in the upcoming T20 World Cup In Australia, and that team India might have missed a trick in this facet when the BCCI announced the 15-member World Cup squad in the beginning of this week.

While the BCCI selection committee did not make wholesale changes to the squad which travelled UAE for the recently concluded Asia Cup, they have opted against the inclusion of their right-arm pacer Avesh Khan, after his ordinary returns during the continental championship.

Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh will travel Australia for the first time after his impressive death bowling skills in the aforementioned tournament, while the squad will be further strengthened with the return back of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel from their respective injuries.

With Hardik Pandya as the fast bowling allrounder, Rohit Sharma’s men will travel Down Under with a total of four pace-bowling options up their sleeves.

Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.

Ideally, India needed one more specialist pace bowler who can bowl with a high release and hit the deck for AUS conditions.

— Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) September 12, 2022

Mitchell Johnson opines India should have added an extra pacer in the World Cup squad

The former Aussie spearhead Mitchell Johnson reckons that the Indian team squad is perhaps a pacer short, as teams should be having at least three specialist pacers in their playing XI, while playing on Australian pitches.

While India can still play their three seamers, they would have to do that while hoping that none of them do get injured during the month-long World Cup.

“In Australia you surely need to play three fast bowlers, possibly four in certain conditions, for example Perth. I guess they have a plan going in but it is a bit of a risk if you only take four (pacers),” remarked Johnson.

The 40-year-old also believes that India’s plan will be to play with Pandya, two spinners, and a couple of fast-bowlers in their XI, as they did during the Asia Cup 2022.