Asia Cup 2022: He will not be missed that much in the death overs – Sanjay Bangar on Jasprit Bumrah’s absence

Former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar believes Jasprit Bumrah will not be missed that much in the death overs in the upcoming Asia Cup 2022. Bumrah has been ruled out with a back injury and had last played for India on the tour of England.

In the absence of Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will spearhead India’s bowling attack while Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan will support the swing fast bowler. Kumar has all the experience under his belt while Arshdeep Singh has shown the right skills in the fag end of the innings as he can bowl accurate yorkers.

Avesh Khan has also done a decent job in the recent past and he will be determined to prove his mettle. Furthermore, India has spin-bowling options such as Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi.

Sanjay Bangar said while talking to Star Sports show Follow the Blues, “Arshdeep is a good option who bowls good yorkers, has a lot of control and an excellent temperament to bowl in the death overs. So he (Bumrah) will not be missed that much in the death overs but the Indian team will definitely feel his absence in the middle overs.”

Former Indian batting coach Bangar wants Bhuvneshwar Kumar to be pack leader of the team.

“Bhuvneshwar Kumar will have to take greater responsibility and that means bowling two overs at the start and then again bowling two overs in the last four overs, which is his strength. I feel the one over where the team uses Bumrah in the middle overs, there his absence will definitely be felt.”

Bangar also heaped praise on Yuzvendra Chahal and said he knows how to play with the batter’s mind. Chahal has been in terrific form in the recent past and he is going to hold the key for the Indian team.

“Yuzvendra Chahal is a bowler who is extremely clever and he knows how to play with the batter’s mind. The way he senses which delivery to bowl against a batter in a particular situation, he knows that very well and that is why he has been contributing nicely as a wrist-spinner for the Indian team for a long time.”

“He has contributed to plenty of wins. The way he will bowl the wider lines, the way he will use the googly against the left-handers, I feel you can definitely expect that he will play the wicket-taking role in the middle overs in crunch matches.”

India will begin their Asia Cup campaign against Pakistan on 28th August.