It's less than 48 hours before the deadline ends for the final squad announcement for the Champions Trophy and India are sweating over the fitness of their premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah clutched his back while bowling during the first innings of the Sydney Test and since then, he is under rehab racing against time to be fit for the ICC tournament in Pakistan in a week.
Former India cricketer Atul Wassan felt that India would do well if Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were available and fit and bowling together. However, if Bumrah misses out, Wassan explained why it should be Mohammed Siraj, who should replace the India Test vice-captain and not Harshit Rana.
"What Bumrah did in Australia was a lot more than what any anyone expected. If there's no Bumrah, we have Shami so I think we're covered," Wassan told the reporters at the launch of the third season of the Restaurants Cricket League (RCL) in New Delhi on Monday, February 10.
"If even Shami wouldn't have been there, then I would have been worried. If Bumrah returns, it's a lottery and then we are certainly the favourites to win the tournament with both Shami and Bumrah in the side," Wassan added while saying that in pressure tournaments, the team would need experience more than anything else.
"The matches are in Dubai and conditions there will be low and slow and sometimes there's dew as well at night so you need experienced players there. These pitches are not entirely green nor they are sluggish rank-turners. When there are neutral pitches, then you go with the best you have.
"So I think, those who have played 50-60 matches for India, have played under high pressure it's better to play them rather than getting excited and throwing in a newbie. So if you're talking about Siraj or Harshit, I will play Siraj because he's a proven entity, he's done it. He may be off the boil at the moment but I will not waste his experience," Atul Wassan added as he launched the third season of RCL, aimed at eradicating hunger in India in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism.
Wassan reckoned that going into such a big tournament, a young inexperienced player might get overawed and succumb to the pressure. Rana has had a decent start to his ODI career. The tall pacer took a three-wicket haul on his debut in Nagpur before dismissing just one batter in the second ODI in Cuttack. Rana has been on the expensive side but if he does make it to India's squad Champions Trophy squad, he might be behind Shami and Arshdeep Singh in the pecking order.
On the other hand, skipper Rohit Sharma had said during the squad announcement press conference that if Bumrah does miss out, they were looking at someone with a specific skill of bowling the latter overs since Arshdeep and Shami would be there to shore up the powerplay side of things. Siraj, in 44 ODIs he has played, has taken 71 wickets at an average of 24 and an economy of 5.18.
India are likely to continue with their combination of three spinners, Hardik Pandya and two frontline fast bowlers not just in the remaining third ODI in Ahmedabad against England but in the Champions Trophy too, given 15 matches were played in Dubai recently during the ILT20. Even though the final of the tournament produced a high-scoring thriller, Dubai is unlikely to witness 330-350 totals.
India still have a day to take a call on Bumrah with respect to his place in the Champions Trophy squad, otherwise, the replacement is likely to be announced in a day or two with February 12 being the deadline.