"They will surely miss Jasprit Bumrah" - Salman Butt on the senior pacer's absence from India's Asia Cup 2022 squad
Team India's fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 due to a back injury. Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt believes that India will miss the star pacer during the multi-nation tournament.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, he pointed out how Bumrah is a proven campaigner in T20 cricket. He suggested that the right-armer's absence is a big blow for the Men in Blue as he is one of their highest-impact players.
Butt explained:
"India will surely miss Jasprit Bumrah. It does make a lot of difference when a bowler like Bumrah is missing. He is a high-class bowler and also has a lot of experience. He bowls exceptionally during the death overs and is also very effective with the new ball and is a matchwinner."
Jasprit Bumrah was last seen in action last month during the white-ball leg of India's England tour. However, he didn't feature in the third and final ODI of the series due to a back spasm.
The 28-year-old was rested for India's recently-concluded tour of the West Indies. Rohit Sharma and Co. will be hoping that the speedster regains fitness ahead of the all-important T20 World Cup 2022.
"While Jasprit Bumrah is the best of them all, the rest are also not very new to the scene" - Salman Butt on India's pace attack
Salman Butt further added that India's young pacers now have a significant amount of experience playing international cricket. He also highlighted how team management has given them consistent chances.
The former cricketer stated that India's new crop of fast bowlers will be high on confidence as the side have emerged victorious in their recent white-ball assignments.
He added:
"India have given a lot of exposure to their young pacers. They are all quite young, but not new to international cricket. They have been playing a lot of cricket and will be high on confidence. While Bumrah is the best of them all, the rest are also not very new to the scene."
#TeamIndia squad for Asia Cup 2022 - Rohit Sharma (Capt ), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, R Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Y Chahal, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.🚨#TeamIndia squad for Asia Cup 2022 - Rohit Sharma (Capt ), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, R Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Y Chahal, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.
Notes -
Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel were not available for selection owing to injuries. They are currently undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru.
Three players - Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar have been named as standbys.
Rohit Sharma’s side are slated to open their Asia Cup 2022 campaign with a clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28. The much-awaited game will be played at the Dubai International Stadium.