England vs India, 2018: 5 bowlers who can be picked in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar in last 2 Tests

Seaming pitches and overcast conditions; The first Indian bowler’s name that comes to the Indian fan is Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Probably, the swing master would have licked his lips from home watching Anderson’s swing on greenish top.

However, unfortunately, he was out with a back problem thus denting India. His absence not only affected the fast bowling department but also his major contribution with the bat was also missed especially, at Edgbaston.

Meanwhile, it seems like he is yet to be recovered. Here we figured out 5 players who can be picked in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the remaining 2 Tests. Check out

Replacements of Bhuvneshwar Kumar:

5. Deepak Chahar:

Of late, the lanky Deepak Chahar has got quite an exposure and he is living up to it as well. From the day he took the new ball for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2018, the fast bowler achieved certain feats in his career.

He has been the consistent performer for India A in the recent tour of England that was played parallel to the senior team. Deepak Chahar was even called up for the T20I game but couldn’t deliver the goods.

However, with the seaming conditions on offer, Deepak Chahar has the incredible ability to bring in those beautiful outswingers. Chahar’s odd inswinger will also help the cause which tricks many batsmen on the planet.

The additional advantage of having Deepak Chahar will be his batting credentials. He has the calibre of striking the ball decently which certainly increases the depth in Indian lineup as well.

4. Siddharth Kaul:

The senior fast bowler in the domestic circuit is, unfortunately, still a junior in the Indian team. He played with Virat Kohli in under-19 World Cup for India but the graph of both travelled in opposite direction.

However, he finally cracked his place in the limited overs series recently. Despite picking a couple of wickets, he was smashed to all corners of the park by the English batsmen. Nonetheless, he can be given chance in Test format.

Kaul exceptional ability to make the most of the surface and also hitting those lengths consistently will make him a good choice in the overcast conditions.

With India following the ”Horses for Courses” strategy, the addition of Siddharth Kaul would be a  gamble which might work in favour of India.

3. Rajneesh Gurbani:

The youngster broke into the scheme of things after his sensation bowling display in the previous Ranji season. He mastered a unique skill of bowling with an abrupt seam movement that catches the world’s finest batsmen off-guard as well.

Though he couldn’t attract the bidders in the IPL auction, he has been the dominant bowler in the domestic circuit. The quality fast bowler will surely under the scheme of things for the upcoming 2 Tests in England.

Adding the goods at the perfect time, Rajneesh Gurbani performed pretty well in recent India A tour to England. He is just one big performance away from making his name on the Indian team squad list.

Gurbani manages to extract seam movement even on the dry and crumbling pitches of India. In addition, his ability to swing the ball at a reasonable pace (mid-130s) makes him quite an impressive package in overseas as well.

2. Mohammed Siraj:

The tall Hyderabadi, Mohammed Siraj will surely fetch the dividends if given chance in the seaming conditions. His weird action combines with the extra pace and swing will help India get the breakthroughs.

Though Siraj’s debut went wrong in the T20I games, he has always been the classic performer in red-ball cricket. His tour in India-A attire was a rock-solid and then continued his impressive performance in South Africa as well.

The legendary Rahul Dravid gave his assurance on the fast bowler who is making the things happen for his side. Siraj recently delivered a stunning piece of spell against South Africa-A that stole all the headlines.

”To get 25 wickets in the last three games in England is terrific. It’s his maturity that stands out. He is someone who has played very less first-class matches. He hasn’t been part of the system since he hasn’t played much junior cricket either. So he is learning all the time. It’s been great to give him the chance to perform. He has been bowling in much better areas and he has grown better physically,” Dravid said on Mohammed Siraj.

On the current form, Siraj has the high scope to replace Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s name on the list for the remaining two tests.

1. Navdeep Saini:

The Delhi lad shot into the emergence during his incredible performance for his team in the previous Ranji Season. He was nurtured by the veteran Gautam Gambhir and was incredible in Ranji Season.

Riding on his superlative 34 wickets, Delhi reached the finals of the Ranji Trophy. More than a fight between the states, it was the game that saw the contest between Navdeep Saini and Rajneesh Gurbani.

Though Gurbani was on the winning side with a decent tally, Navdeep Sain stole the limelight with deceptive bowling and accuracy. He has beaten those edges of the batsmen flashy blades numerous of times during his spell.

Coming to his IPL stint, he wasn’t given a chance in the playing XI by RCB side. But, he was bought for a whopping INR 3 Crores. Navdeep was then picked for India – A who delivered goods alongside Siraj in English and Proteas conditions.