WTC Final | India are missing Bhuvneshwar Kumar in English conditions, reckons Aakash Chopra
Indian cricket expert Aakash Chopra has reckoned that India are missing Bhuvneshwar Kumar who can do an excellent job with the brand new cherry. He further added that bowlers with higher pace will be getting lesser swing and feels that Bhuvi and Deepak Chahar should have been considered.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar remains one of the best swing bowlers in the country. In England conditions, swing bowlers enjoy a lot of assistance and even Bhuvneshwar had a fair bit of success when he travelled with the team in 2014 as he picked 19 wickets in five Tests and also made 247 runs with the bat. However, he missed the 2018 tour with an injury and was overlooked by the team this time too given he hasn't played a red-ball game in the last three years.Â
However, in swing-friendly Southampton, India have missed a genuine swing bowler with most of their seamers not getting as much swing from the wicket as the Kiwi bowlers got. Weighing on the situation, former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra reckoned that India are missing the experienced swing bowler given he brings diverse skills to the plate.
âIndia 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,â Chopra said, reported HT.
He further added that among India's pace trio only Ishant Sharma is getting swing as Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah rely on seam movement mostly.
âSwinging 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,â he said.
Barring Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar is also considered a fine swing bowler but he's seen as a white-ball specialist. However, Chopra asserted that both Chahar and Bhuvi should have been considered for the England tour.
âWhoever 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 thi tour of England,â he added.