'He can be a good replacement for Jasprit Bumrah, can also be the next Mohammad Shami': RP Singh

Former India pacer Rudra Pratap Singh on Thursday raved about Mohmmad Shami, saying the "special" fast bowler can plan against a batter by just looking at his backlift.

Shami is the leading wicket-taker in the IPL with 17 scalps from nine games.

“When you are an experienced bowler, you know how the pitch would behave and what kind of batter is on the other end. You discuss a lot in the team meetings and in the excel sheets and powerpoints, but an experienced bowler can even formulate his plans looking at the batter’s bat-lift.

"The most special part is that Shami sticks to his strengths; his job is to bowl slightly outside the off-stump and let the ball do the rest. He introduces his skills first then looks for the batter's weaknesses,” said Singh in an interaction organised by Jio Cinema.

Siraj can lead India's attack after Bumrah and Shami

Mohammed Siraj is another bowler who seems to get better with every game. “Siraj seems to have worked out in a few areas, with fitness being a major part. If you look at the technical part of his bowling, he has worked on his wrist positions and follow-through which has helped him in finding better bounce off the pitch.

"He can certainly be a good replacement for (Jasprit) Bumrah and if his graph keeps moving higher, then he can also be the next Mohammad Shami," he said.

The left-arm pacer said India’s T20 specialists Arshdeep Singh will need to stick to his swing whereas Umran Malik needs to add more variations to his arsenal.

“Sometimes your management or the captain does not allow you to do what you want to do. It was surprising to see Arshdeep getting wickets off the short ball; he is essentially a swing bowler.

"Trying new things is good, but in crunch situations, you cannot try too many new things — you should stick to your guns.

“Arshdeep is known for his swing, he can speak to his management that swing bowling is his strength and he should be allowed to stick with it." Singh also questioned the way SRH is using Umran Malik.

“The way SRH have used Umran Malik is certainly debatable, but as a bowler you have to win the trust of the captain and the management that you are contributing.

"There is no doubt that he has got the speed, which is special, but he has to improve his skills. Dale Steyn had the speed with swing, but Umran’s skills in swinging the ball needs work." Singh also feels that CSK will experience another turbulent period once MS Dhoni steps aside. “No one knows better than (MS) Dhoni, on how to use limited resources and to get performances out of them.

"There were several injury concerns but Dhoni still maintained the resources because of his knowledge of the game as well as the technical aspects. We saw last year what transpired when Dhoni had stepped aside. It will be difficult for CSK (after Dhoni's IPL retirement), the way MS has managed CSK is different."