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Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar- all of these senior pace bowlers deserve to be in contention for the 2027 ODI World Cup team selection, says former Team India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin during an online interaction with Vimal Kumar on his YouTube channel ‘Ash ki Baat’.
The India National Cricket Team is currently under preparation for the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup. Ahead of the event, the team management is trying out combinations across the departments. The bowling combination did not look as promising as it should have been against England in the 3-match ODI series.
The newly shaped Indian pace bowling attack was vandalised by England
For the 3-match ODI seires decider at Lord’s on July 19, the Indian cricket team named four pacers- Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, and Gurnoor Brar- in the playing combination, which did not got in the way the the planned.
With ease, the England batters secured 387 runs in 50 overs against the Indian bowling line-up to win the match. Four pacers under the English conditions sounded interesting, but the grand reality was different.
Without Jasprit Bumrah in the line-up, who missed the match due to a knee injury, the bowling attack delivered without doing any significant damage to the England batting order.
Ravichandran Ashwin backs Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup
As the next ODI World Cup will be hosted in South Africa, pacers are expected to take a key role there. From the last match against England, it was clear that the Indian team will have to seek support from the senior bowlers who have experience bowling on South African soil.
Ravichandran Ashwin believes senior bowlers like Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who did well in the recent past in the Indian Premier League and in the domestic tournaments, deserve to be in contention for the next ODI World Cup.
“I will tell you honestly. All the experienced bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, they all have a good chance. In South Africa, the wicket will be on the slower side. Everyone has a chance. We talked about Mohammed Shami earlier,” Ashwin said in the video.
“There are two things. How are people watching? And how do I watch? How do I watch? It is difficult to tell because I am not in that place. But the point is, in this case scenario, everyone has to be in contention,” he added.
Ravichandran Ashwin asks BCCI to put focus on coach appointment process
Ashwin points out another area where BCCI should put some effort to make some improvements, which is grooming a coach. When a team transfers from one coach to another coach, some fundamental changes are expected.
Ravichandran Ashwin wants to say that if the board grooms the coach in advance, with the advice from the previous coach, then the transition period could be much smoother in comparison to the current scenario.
“Who was the coach of 2023? Rahul bhai (Rahul Dravid). Rahul bhai must have asked the way till 2027. And if not, if Rahul bhai says I will stay till 2024-25, I will leave. Rahul bhai's planning should be recorded. It should be documented that this is my plan. And that needs to be handed over. I have said this many times,” Ravichandran Ashwin opined.
