5 players who can win the Champions Trophy for India
After much deliberaton and confusion, India have announced their 15-man squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy to be held in England and Wales from June 1. A tried and tested combination of players has been chosen and youngsters have been put on standby for the moment as India look to defend the title they won in 2013.
Keeping the exclusions and omissions aside, if one focuses on the men who have been picked to represent the team, it would be observed that there are several match winners present who can turn the course of the game on their own.
Besides having experienced cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, a young core of Manish Pandey, Jasprit Bumrah and Kedar Jadhav – who is still new to international cricket – is also present.
The seasoned duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja would shoulder the rsponsibilites of spin bowling whereas Bhuvneshwar Kumar would lead the pace battery and he would be supported by Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami.
Here’s having a look at 5 potential match-winners for India, in that the players who can win the tournament single-handedly.
#5 Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The 27-year-old fast bowler has, through his recent promising performances – propelled himself to the position of the spearhead of the Indian bowling attack. Having started as an out-and-out swing bowler, Kumar has taken giant strides in limited-overs cricket since the 2015 World Cup and has developed himself into an all-conditons bowler, especially vital at the death.
His ability to execute the yorkers during the death overs and mix them up with seam-up and slower deliveries has been unparalleled amongst the current crop of Indian bowlers While IPL performances do not warrant a place in the side for a 50-over competition, the skill of executing the yorkers remains the same, be it any format, and it is here that Kumar has trumped all of his peers.
With all that added to his arsenal, the pacer hasn’t lost his swing either and is as effective a bowler with the new ball – especially under the English conditons, where the ball swings more – as he is with the old one.