Indian team have every base covered for World Cup, says Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain has stated that the Indian team have all their bases covered for the upcoming World Cup in England and Wales, starting May 30. India have a strong bowling attack this time apart from their traditional strength, batting, with top batsmen like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
India have an extremely strong squad for the World Cup. The number two ranked side have the number one ranked batsman Virat Kohli and the second ranked Rohit Sharma in their line-up, along with opener Shikhar Dhawan and one of the best finishers in MS Dhoni. They are no slouch with respect to bowling, as they have the number one ranked Jasprit Bumrah leading the attack along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami. Even the spin duo of seventh ranked Kuldeep Yadav and eight ranked Yuzvendra Chahal form a deadly wicket-taking combination. Nasser Hussain feels that India are no longer a one dimensional team.
“They have every base covered, they have the best batsman in world cricket right now in Virat Kohli. He’s backed up by various other batsmen, in particular, Rohit Sharma. Sharma would have to be in the all-time XI in one-day cricket. They have good finishers in MS Dhoni and their bowling is very strong, with Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. They’re no longer a one-dimensional team – they have good seamers and good spin options,” he said at the preview show of the quadrennial event, reported Times Now.
India rely heavily on the top three of their batting lineup but they have greatly improved with respect to their bowling. The Indian bowling attack is arguably the best bowling attack of the tournament, something the side is not used to. Shami made a comeback to the limited overs side this year and has 19 wickets in 11 matches. Bumrah has 29 wickets in 18 matches since the start of 2018, followed by 30 wickets in 24 matches for Kumar, who had a poor 2018 but has had a good run this year. Kuldeep has 65 wickets in the last 30 games whereas Chahal has 45 wickets to his name in 24 games. The former England skipper pointed out towards the advancements with respect to India’s bowling in the last two years.
“They use the powerplay well with Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. Those two go hard and go well and set it up for Kohli. They chase as well as any team in the world and they travel well in white-ball cricket. You need your spin options but India’s real advance over the last two years has been in their seam bowling department,” he explained.
The England great also went on to say that he will be wary of the Indian side in this edition of the marquee event.
“Bumrah is a fabulous bowler who bowls at the start and at the death. Kumar will be a real handful and their spinners are very good. I’d be very wary of India at this World Cup,’ the 51-year-old concluded.