Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has great expectations out of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the imminent ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Speaking to news agency PTI during the launch of the World Cup anthem, Yuvraj hoped for Bumrah to play a Zaheer Khan-like role in what will be his second ODI World Cup.
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Playing his third and final World Cup, the former left-arm pacer had played the role of an archetype senior bowler. One of the four specialist pacers picked by India 12 years ago, Khan had emerged as the joint-highest wicket-taker on the back of dismissing 21 batters across nine matches at an average of 18.76, an economy rate of 4.83 and a strike rate of 23.28.
Yuvraj Singh Expects Jasprit Bumrah To Play A Zaheer Khan-Like Role In 2023 World Cup 12 Years After India’s Last ICC Tournament Win
Yuvraj, who was fighting a life-changing health-related battle during a victorious home World Cup campaign, acknowledged Bumrah’s ability to regain full fitness after a long-standing back injury. Having played a couple of T20Is and six ODIs since returning from injury in the last six weeks, Bumrah has already proved his form and fitness at the highest level.
“Jasprit [Bumrah] is a match-winner. Just like Zak [Zaheer Khan] was a match-winning for us in 2011. He has pace as well as skill. It’s a big thing to return from a back injury. You always expect such a bowler to win you matches. He has captained as well. Rohit [Sharma] known how to make optimum use of him because he leads Mumbai Indians as well,” Yuvraj told PTI as quoted by ESPNcricinfo Hindi.
Yuvraj was further appreciative of Bumrah’s capability of both picking wickets with a new ball and restricting the flow of runs in the slog overs. It is due to this dual nature of Bumrah’s skills that the southpaw considers he could even convert an innings total of 250-260 into a match-winning one for his team.
For the unversed, Zaheer used to put similar offerings on the table during his playing days. Not a designated death bowler like Bumrah, Zaheer was known to put curbs around batters with his artistic guile. A handy campaigner who would benefit a lot because of the reverse swing on offer back in the day, Zaheer had the ability to turn the tables on his own.
Yuvraj Singh Considers Yuzvendra Chahal’s Absence A ‘Miss’ For India
Yuvraj, however, also observed a staggering gap in the Indian squad for this World Cup. According to the Player of the Tournament in 2011, the absence of a leg-spinner could hurt the home team.
While there’s not much wrong with Yuzvendra Chahal‘s bowling, his combined batting inability alongside spin partner Kuldeep Yadav has worked against him. If Yuvraj is to be believed, all-rounder Washington Sundar, who opened the batting with captain Rohit Sharma in the third ODI against Australia earlier this week, could’ve been a fitting spin-bowling all-rounder in this squad.
Having said that, Yuvraj understood why the selectors decided to move forward with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Citing Ashwin’s experience, fathoming his inclusion as all-rounder Axar Patel‘s replacement wasn’t a daunting task for the two-time World Cup winner.
Delighted due to the form of specialist Indian batters, Yuvraj laid emphasis on Rohit and his predecessor Virat Kohli needing to join hands for a stellar campaign by avoiding all other distractions for India to win their third World Cup.
