Dale Steyn wants THIS bowler to replace Jasprit Bumrah in India's T20 World Cup squad

Former South African pace bowler Dale Steyn has revealed the name of the player who he thinks should replace Jasprit Bumrah in India's T20 World Cup squad. Steyn, while speaking on Star Sports, named Mohammed Shami as his top pick for Bumrah's replacement in the Indian T20 World Cup team. Bumrah has been ruled out of the upcoming T20 World Cup due to a back injury that he sustained ahead of the three-match T20I series against South Africa. The BCCI is yet to name Bumrah's replacement for the marquee ICC event. 

Steyn names Bumrah's replacement

Bumrah is an impact player, and Steyn claimed that the opposition will breathe a sigh of relief because of his unavailability for the T20 World Cup. From the perspective of the spectator, Steyn said it's unfortunate that Bumrah won't play in the World Cup. He continued by saying that he would look for someone with a comparable level of experience to replace Bumrah and gave Shami the go-ahead. Other players with the potential to succeed Bumrah were also mentioned by Steyn, including Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Siraj.

"Once the opposition hears that Jasprit Bumrah is unavailable, they all breathe a sigh of relief. He's such a wonderful bowler. He's played around the world, he's an impact player, he can bowl at any time in the match. His execution of skills is on point, and India rely heavily on him. It's a pity that he is not at the World Cup, because me, as a spectator, I actually want to go and watch him play," Steyn was quoted as saying to Star Sports. 

"I'm sad and I feel for him. As a replacement, I would look at someone who can qualify with similar experience. Mohammed Shami is probably the guy I would go with. He's been around the world, he can swing the ball and he can bowl quickly when he wants to. You've got a bunch of other guys as well. You've got Deepak who has got swing, Siraj who has got skills, and Avesh has some good pace. But I think the top of the pile would be Shami, I've got him written down here. If he's fully fit, he's somebody the opposition do fear. But India would be missing Bumrah for sure," he added.  

India will kickstart its T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 23. Before the high-octane clash, India will play a couple of practice games against Australia and New Zealand. The Indian team has reached Australia, where they will soon begin their preparations for the World Cup.  

India squad for ICC T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.

Image: RCB/BCCI