Team India take on defending champions England in the semifinal of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the Caribbean on Thursday at the Providence Stadium in Guyana and the fixture promises to be a cricketing extravaganza with star players embellishing both units.
Ahead of the crucial encounter, former Indian pacer S Sreesanth heaped praise on the men in blues’ strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who has been nothing short of sensational in the tournament and in recent years.
The maverick seamer lavished praise on Bumrah for his ability to execute his clear-cut plans.
“All I can say is the way Bumrah bowls, whenever he gets an opportunity to bowl, he’s got that plan and he executes those plans really well. If you look at his deliveries, he bowls in front of his head, which is an awkward action, making it very difficult to pick up,”
Sreesanth even termed Bumrah as the difference maker, who could single-handedly dictate the result of the game.
“The England players have faced him, but when it comes to critical situations, maybe that is one mantra to learn—that Bumrah is going to be a big difference when it comes to winning or losing,” he said.
“Those four overs, those 24 balls, how the England team deals with them will matter,” the 41-year-old added.
Sreesanth also touched up on Arshdeep Singh, who has been amongst the wickets in the tournament and further broke down the strength in bowling the men in blue have at their disposal.
“The best thing with Bumrah is the bowling partnership with Arshdeep. Even Arshdeep is taking wickets. When someone is trying to see off Bumrah, there is a possibility that Arshdeep will take a wicket, not just because he’s bowling okay, but because he’s bowling brilliantly,” he continued.
“If you’re trying to see off Arshdeep, there comes Hardik Pandya. He can surprise you with those bouncers. And then we have Kuldeep (Yadav), Axar (Patel) and (Ravindra) Jadeja. So it’s a brilliant bowling attack to win the World Cup,” he said.
The former seamer noted star-bowler Bumrah’s aura and drew parallels to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who used to inspire teammates and strike fear into the opposition, just with his mere presence.
“And one more thing I want to say, when Bumrah comes in, not a single batsman actually wants to go after him, especially in a knockout game,” he continued.
“That’s the presence of Bumrah in the team; even if he doesn’t move, it’s like Sachin Tendulkar when he used to play and stand in the mid-off. That’s the kind of inspiration other bowlers are getting from Bumrah’s presence; it is unbelievable,” the seamer said.
The Kerala native also spoke about skipper Rohit Sharma’s credentials as a captain and backed him to go on and lift the coveted title.
“Rohit Sharma has all the capabilities of a winning captain. He’s got that experience, so I don’t see any reason why he can’t go all the way and win the World Cup,” the pacer said.
Sreesanth enumerated Rohit’s ability to connect with his players on a personal level and credited the ability to do so.
“We spoke about Rashid Khan and how, with brotherhood, he has kept the team as a unit. Similarly, Rohit Sharma has also done it many times in franchise cricket. He knows every player individually,” he added.
He also pointed out the influence all-rounder Hardik Pandya brings to the team and compared it to what the legendary Yuvraj Singh brought to the table back in his heyday.
“Despite the speculations going on throughout the week, in the last press conference, he spoke about Hardik Pandya being a key player in the team. Just like Yuvraj Singh in the 2011 World Cup as an all-rounder with bat, ball, and fielding, I think Hardik Pandya is very much capable of doing that in this World Cup,” he continued.
“We wouldn’t be surprised if Rohit Sharma lifts that trophy,” Sreesanth signed off.
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