ICC World Cup 2019: India's probable bowling lineup that will take the field in England
The BCCI recently announced India's World Cup 2019 squad and made a few surprise inclusions. Ambati Rayudu and Rishabh Pant lost out to Vijay Shankar and Dinesh Karthik respectively, while the selectors decided to give a nod to Ravindra Jadeja ahead of the fourth seamer.
The specialist bowlers in the squad are Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. They will be assisted by Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar and Kedar Jadhav with some overs.
In recent times, India have been seen playing with 5 bowlers, mainly due to no bowling options from the top 5 of the batting order. This has resulted in a long tail and India have suffered quite a few times with no reliable batting options after No. 7.
However, with the inclusion of Shankar and Jadeja, India have hinted that they will be playing with a deep batting order in the mega event, with plenty of bowling options in the form of all-rounders.
On that note, here a look at the probable bowling attack that will take the field for India in England:
Seamers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah
At present, Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah look like the best fast bowling combination for India. Scalping 118 wickets in 105 ODIs with an average of 35.67 and an economy of 5.01, Bhuvi has established himself as one of the pillars of Indian ODI bowling, especially with his impressive performances in recent times.
The swinging conditions of England are going to be helpful for Bhuvi and he is likely to hold his spot in the playing XI.
Bumrah meanwhile needs no introduction. The No. 1 ranked ODI bowler is well known for his accuracy and speed, accompanied by his expertise in bowling death overs.
In 49 ODIs Bumrah has taken 85 wickets with an average of 22.15 and an economy of 4.51. Along with Bhuvneswar, he is expected to give early breakthroughs with the new ball and keep a tight check on the opposition batsmen in the death overs .
Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja
After the 2017 Champions Trophy, India decided to move ahead with wrist spinners instead of finger spinners. Since then, Kuldeep Yadav has been a regular appearance in the Indian ODI setup.
As a left-arm chinaman bowler, he has got a lot varieties in his bowling to deceive the batsmen. With 88 wickets in 44 matches at an average of 21.75 and an economy of 4.94, Kuldeep is now India's preferred spinner in ODIs and will be looking to make his first World Cup a memorable one.
Ravindra Jadeja might get the nod ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal as the second spinner in the playing XI. With 174 wickets in 151 ODIs, Jadeja brings in a lot of experience to the Indian bowling.
Chahal has done no wrong to sit in the bench but Jadea's accurate bowling accompanied by his razor sharp fielding, which helps save plenty of runs, make him the front runner for the second spinner's slot. Moreover, Jadea's ability to bat lower down the order will make the batting order deeper, which will be helpful in case India lose too many early wickets.
Apart from these four specialist bowlers, India will have the services of Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar as two fast bowling all-rounders. There's also Kedar Jadhav who, with his slingy action, has done a commendable job as a part-time spinner in recent times by taking wickets at crucial moments.
A total of seven bowling options must make the job easier for captain Virat Kohli in case of sudden injury during the match or if one of the bowlers is having an off day.
It will be interesting to see which of the bowlers in the 15-man squad will actually make it into the playing XI as all of them are now getting chances in the IPL to strengthen their case. The fans will be curious to know the bowling combination with which India will play their first game of the tournament against South Africa on 5th June 2019.