Asia Cup 2022: India’s multi-faceted bowling covers all bases – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Sri Lanka’s Dushmantha Chameera, Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali, and India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel – there is something common between all these fast bowlers – they will miss the Asia Cup set to start in two days’ time.

The continental tournament will feel the void of some of the top pace bowlers, probably. On paper, India and Pakistan seem to face more heat of injuries as some of their premier quicks will be out of action. But considering the heat in UAE, spinners might prove to be sharper than the quicks.

The Indian bowling, despite the absence of stalwart Jasprit Bumrah and rookie Harshal Patel, seems strong enough in both departments and would prove lethal for their opponents more often than not. One of the significant aspects is India’s heterogeneous bowling that can battle on different surfaces and against different batting line-ups.

Arshdeep Singh will give India a left-arm fast bowling option that India has rued for long. AP

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s swing, Arshdeep Singh’s pace, Yuzvendra Chahal’s spin, and Ravichandran Ashwin’s tactics bring a lot of variety to the Indian bowling attack. Add to it, Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya’s all-round abilities that give a strong balance to the side.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal will be the first-choice bowlers throughout the tournament, but India’s team selection has surprised the fans and experts every now and then.

India team selection has for long been like a multiple choice question paper wherein all the options look similar and confuse the student. Rohit, however, has scored good marks so far. The think tank led by Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, once he returns back (and VVS Laxman till then), is not expected to tinker too much with the playing XI.

Bhuvneshwar, nevertheless, will have a wild card entry considering he is the only experienced quick bowler in the side, with the other two being Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan. Bhuvi has been excellent after the IPL and has led India’s bowling effort in the T20s since then. Just when questions were raised around him, he won the man of the series award against England, despite playing just two games. And if the Dubai surface provides a little bit of swing, expect Bhuvi to garner similar exploits, and the opponent batters to have nightmares before they sleep.

Arshdeep and Avesh Khan might seem quite new to the setup. But the duo does have a significant experience in the IPL, and at times have faced better opponents than they will face in the UAE.

At the international level as well, Arshdeep has already shown his worth in six games – one against England and five against West Indies – he has played so far. He has nine dismissals at an average of 14.55. And while his numbers are decent enough, it’s the manner in which he has bowled, that has caught the eyes of everyone. And his obviously superior performance than Avesh Khan will give him an edge in selection over the latter. What Arshdeep also gives is a left-arm fast bowling option, which India has rued for long. Expect Avesh Khan to play only if India decides to field three front-line fast bowlers.

The advent of the newer version of Hardik Pandya is also a threatening aspect for the opponents. Hardik has proven to be an all-rounder in the true sense. Not only can he do both- batting and bowling, but he can bat at any position and bowl at the start of the innings, as well as at the end. He will no more be used to fill in the void of a fifth bowler, but will definitely be a wicket-taking option.

While Hardik gives an all-round edge and can bowl at any stage, Chahal has already been the lead spinner for India in T20Is.
Twitter/Gujarat Titans

All things said and done, the spinners have had a bigger say in T20s for quite a while now. All the more with the tournament being played in UAE, which is expected to be baking during the daytime before the games start in the evening. The surface in Dubai and Sharjah as well have traditionally supported the spinners.

Yuzvendra Chahal, at times when he is not busy making reels and goofing around on live sessions of his teammates, is one of the best leg spinners in the world. His consistency is next to none. He will be one of the most important pieces in India’s bowling puzzle.

Albeit, he might face a bit of competition from Ravi Bishnoi for selection, as the leadership might be tempted to select the latter on occasions. The fact that Bishnoi ended as the second highest wicket-taker (with eight wickets in five games) against West Indies, only adds weight to his selection.

With the variety of a left-arm spinner and an off-spinner also available, India fielding two leg-spinners in the starting XI is an unexpected proposition. But India will surely play another spinner besides Chahal. And Jadeja is the prime contender for the spot. Though his bowling has not been match-winning in the limited overs setup, his all-round abilities give him an edge over Ashwin, as has been the case for quite a while now.

Despite of being a mastermind, Ashwin is likely to warm the bench on most occasions. AP

Teams like Pakistan and Sri Lanka have fewer left-hand batters in the squad and that will also give Jadeja an edge over Ashwin. The latter, however, had the most productive IPL season with the bat in 2022 with Rajasthan Royals. If that has any consideration in the team selection, it will only get tense. But looking at the team balance, Ashwin is likely to warm the bench more often than not.

Though India has a multi-faceted bowling attack, they might still miss the services of Jasprit Bumrah, especially towards the death and more so if the contest is closely fought. No other bowler has been as effective as Bumrah at the death. The question that arises here is whether they should have played Mohammed Shami – whom they have declared to be out of the T20 setup – especially in Bumrah’s absence.

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