T20 World Cup 2022: Jasprit Bumrah’s absence is a big blow, we will miss him – Rahul Dravid

Indian head coach Rahul Dravid admitted that Jasprit Bumrah’s absence is a big blow for the team and they are going to miss his services. Bumrah has been ruled out with a back injury and it is a huge blow to the team as it definitely hampers India’s chances of going all the way in the T20 World Cup.

The ace paceman had recently returned to the squad for the T20I series against Australia and played two matches. But unfortunately, Bumrah once again suffered a back injury, which has ruled him out of the T20I showpiece.

Bumrah is regarded as one of the best T20 bowlers in the world but Dravid feels his absence will also present an opportunity for other bowlers to step up. However, India’s fast bowling has been a concern in the recent past, especially while bowling at the fag end of the innings.

Rahul Dravid said in the post-match presentation, “It happens, but it is a great opportunity for someone to stand up. We will miss him, we will miss his personality around the group for sure.”

On the other hand, the selectors are yet to name Bumrah’s replacement in the T20 World Cup squad. Mohammed Shami is on the standby players list but he didn’t play in the series against Australia and South Africa after testing positive for Covid-19. Shami had last played a T20I match in the 2021 T20 World Cup.

“In terms of who the replacement is, we’ll have a look, we’ll see, we’ve got time till October 15th,” Dravid said on Tuesday night, at a press conference after the third T20I against South Africa in Indore. “Shami obviously is someone who’s in the standbys, but unfortunately for us, he couldn’t play this series, which would have been ideal from that perspective.

“He’s in the NCA at the moment – we’ll have to get reports as to how he’s recovering, and what’s his status after 14-15 days of Covid, and we’ll take a call, once I get reports on how he’s feeling, then we can take a call and the selectors can take a call on how we move forward on it.”

India’s bowling is definitely a concern before the T20 World Cup as the bowlers have failed to hit the right areas. The hosts conceded 73 runs in the last five overs in the third T20I against South Africa at Indore on Tuesday as the Proteas posted 227 runs on the board.

India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on 23rd October.