Ravi Shastri, who used to be the head coach of India, thinks that the speedy Jasprit Bumrah’s absence from the Indian pace attack gives the Australian pace attack an edge. Shastri pointed out that Australia has star bowler Mitchell Starc and leader Pat Cummins, which makes them more dangerous on paper than India’s attack.
Since his first Test match, Jasprit Bumrah has been one of the best fast bowlers in the game. But because of a lower back problem, he hasn’t played competitive cricket since September of last year. He has also had surgery to try to get better in time for the ODI World Cup later this year.
The Times of India said that Ravi Shastri said the following about the two bowling attacks before the WTC final:
“If Jasprit Bumrah was on the Indian team, I would have said that both bowling teams are strong. But Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are part of the Australian attack.
Ravi Shastri talks about how important ‘personalities’ are in Test cricket
Ravi Shastri also used the example of England’s great all-rounder Ian Botham to show how players with a certain amount of swagger can make the rest of the team feel better. He talked about how England won the 1981 Ashes even though, on paper, Australia was the better team.
Shastri said about this:
“Absolutely, you need people with their own thoughts and feelings. It’s not about the number of runs, wins, or statistics. People will watch a game if it has interesting people in it. When I first came here in 1981, England was playing its worst cricket, but Ian Botham turned the Ashes on its head all by himself. It gave Test cricket and English cricket a big boost that they really needed. He got many people to sit down.”
India would be hoping that players like Virat Kohli, who wear their hearts on their sleeves, will raise the squad with their enthusiasm.
