Former skipper Krish Srikkanth believes the leader of the Indian bowling attack, Jasprit Bumrah, will be their key player in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Manchester on Tuesday.
“Looking ahead to the semi-final, Bumrah is going to be a key man for Virat Kohli. India are lucky to have someone with the ability to take wickets with the new ball, come back later and break a partnership if needed, and then to restrict at the death,” Srikanth wrote in his column for ICC.
The 59-year-old said Bumrah is someone who not only contributes with wickets but also can put the brakes on the opposition’s scoring rate.
“From a bowling perspective, it was all about Jasprit Bumrah again. He really is the leader of the Indian attack.
Srikanth said, “He is the main weapon, he takes wickets, he can put on the brakes when the opposition are getting on top, he can do everything. We saw it against England when they were cutting loose, and against Sri Lanka again, when they were trying to attack.”
He was also all praise for opener Rohit Sharma, who became the first batsman to score five hundreds in a single World Cup, eclipsing former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara’s record.
“India’s openers are flying right now and in Rohit Sharma they have someone who has it all. Three centuries in a row, five in total in this World Cup, he is in incredible form.
He said, “The opposition know that you either get him out before he gets to 10, or the next pit stop is probably 100. In the last three years of his career he has been outstandingly consistent in one-day cricket.”
Srikanth said Rohit’s temperament is his strength.
He said, “I think the most important thing about him is his temperament. He is so cool and calm and just never gets flustered. So many players start to panic if they don’t get runs during the Powerplay, but Rohit doesn’t. Even when he starts slowly, he is dangerous.”
“He has this ability to just shift through the gears, from second to fourth to sixth to eighth. By the time he gets to 120, he is in eighth gear. He has a fantastic striking ability and we saw that against Sri Lanka.
He said, “But it is also important to remember that he does more than just strike the ball cleanly. Rohit can score this many centuries because he has rock solid defence. You cannot score that many hundreds without a great defence, and Rohit has it.”