WTC final: "He could have done everything" - Aakash Chopra feels India missing Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Aakash Chopra believes Team India are definitely missing the services of Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the World Test Championship (WTC) final as the swing bowler could have contributed in multiple aspects.
The WTC final is intriguingly poised even though the fourth day's play was washed out. Although the Indian seamers have kept a check on the flow of runs in New Zealand's first innings, their lack of swing has garnered some criticism.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra replied in the affirmative when asked if India are feeling the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He elaborated:
"India is definitely missing Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He has three special aspects as well. Firstly, he does magic with the new ball. Secondly, he bowls the long spells. And the third thing is that he can bat as well. He could have done everything for Team India."
The former Indian batsman pointed out that Bhuvneshwar Kumar could have played the out-and-out swing bowler's role like his Kiwi counterparts. Chopra added that Ishant Sharma is the only Indian bowler to get some decent swing, with Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah relying more on seam movement. He added:
"Swinging conditions can only be utilized if the ball leaves your hand accordingly. We saw Colin de Grandhomme getting a lot of swing, then Southee, Jamieson and Trent Boult, Ishant Sharma is still somewhere close but the other two are far behind. They don't swing the ball, they are seam bowlers."
Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 19 wickets in the five Tests he played in India's 2014 tour of England. He also contributed 247 runs with the bat, including three half-centuries.
"You could have considered both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra highlighted that swing bowling is a different art and signed off by stating that both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar should have been in India's scheme of things for the England tour. He said:
"Whoever is quicker in the air, he gets slightly lesser swing. A seam bowler is not a swing bowler. To get the swing, you need to tilt the seam slightly and Bhuvneshwar Kumar does that thing very nicely. I would say you could have considered both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar for this tour of England."
With Bhuvneshwar Kumar being afflicted by injuries of late, there were question marks over his fitness for the longest format of the game. That could have been the reason behind his non-selection for the tour of England, and instead being named in India's team for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka.