Not Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli! Mohammad Kaif names India's 'biggest factor' in T20 World Cup triumph

Former Indian player Mohammad Kaif has lauded Jasprit Bumrah for playing a major role during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Mohammad Kaif feels that Jasprit Bumrah was the biggest factor in the Team's India victory in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 tournament.

Notably, Jasprit Bumrah played a key role in leading Rohit Sharma & Company to the final and helping them to defeat every team. For instance, India gave a poor target of 119 to Pakistan in their group stage.

Pakistan also dominated the Men-in-Blue during the match but after Jasprit Bumrah returned to bowling after 10 overs, he dismantled all the key players.

Jasprit Bumrah gave a wonderful performance throughout the tournament. The right-arm pacer picked 15 wickets in 8 games at a stunning average of just 8.27. He finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament after Fazalhaq Farooqi and Arshdeep Singh with 17 wickets each.

Bumrah also bowled at a wonderful economy of just 4.18 and held a strike rate of 11.87. The stats truly reveal Bumrah's pace dominance in the T20 World Cup 2024.

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The biggest factor was Jasprit Bumrah: Mohammad Kaif

During a chat with ANI, former Indian batting legend Mohammad Kaif said Jasprit Bumrah was the biggest factor for Team India for victory in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. He also analyzed the India vs Pakistan match at the start, where India defended a 199-run target.

"The biggest factor was Jasprit Bumrah. No one can deny that. Bumrah's arrival was the biggest factor for the team. If we talk about Pakistan's match, which was defended by 119. Pakistan's match was very big," he said.

"Pakistan's defeat gives confidence to the team. Bumrah played a big role in that match. Bumrah defended 119 and dismissed Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Iftikhar Ahmed", the fielding legend added.

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Kaif also noted that Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami were beaten by Australia's Travis Head multiple times in the past. However, the Aussie opener could not do much this time. According to Kaif, Bumrah has the quality to dismiss main players.

"Bumrah bundled out all the main players. Bumrah has that quality. After Pakistan's defeat, there was a good feeling inside the team. Bumrah's role was very good. Bumrah and Mohammad Shami have faced Travis Head again and again. Bumrah was beaten many times", he added. Have a look at the complete video below.

IANS Exclusive

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif told IANS: "The biggest factor was Jasprit Bumrah, beating Pakistan gave them a lot of confidence in the T20 World Cup. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid made a very balanced team. Team planning was really good. Ajit Agarkar also… pic.twitter.com/da9hJitqz2

— IANS (@ians_india) July 19, 2024

Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli are match-winners: Mohammad Kaif

Kaif also reckoned team bonding is something that comes from playing well and winning matches and winners like Bumrah and Kohli in the dressing room. He also noted that Bumrah was not there before in many tournaments.

"People say that Bumrah talked about team bonding. But that comes from winning. Team bonding is not like that. Team bonding comes from playing well. When I see the match winners in the dressing room, I see Virat Kohli and Bumrah in the squad. Bumrah was not there before," he concluded.

Interestingly, the Indian pacer faced a back injury and was out of the field for almost 11 months. In his absence, Mohammed Shami Mohammed Siraj, and other pacers took responsibility for the pace department.