Dashing Indian opener Sanju Samson has asserted that the Indian ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah is irreplaceable, adding that the current Indian team has young bowlers who can improve with more opportunities.
Notably, Samson’s comments came right after India’s 24-run loss to the West Indies in the fourth T20I in Hyderabad. With Bumrah not being part of the current home series, India faced a tough challenge as the series is currently levelled 2-2.
“There is no replacement for Jasprit Bumrah. He is a once-in-a-generation kind of bowler, and we are very lucky to have him. But we have had some really good talent coming along also; Arshdeep (Singh) has been doing a great job, and also the way Prince Yadav has bowled in the last few games is very impressive. I feel we have some really good talent. The more we play them, the more we back them, the better they will become,” Samson said in the post-match press conference.
West Indies captain Shai Hope has been in excellent form, having scored two centuries and a half-century in the four T20Is. Samson hailed Hope for the way he had handled the Indian bowling attack throughout the ongoing tour.
“He (Hope) is playing really well; we need to respect what he has been doing. He has been playing some really good cricketing shots, not taking that much risk, so he is respecting the bowlers as well,” he noted.
“We need to give the credit to him for the way he is batting, and we are definitely switched on how to respond to him every game,” he added.
On Friday, October 16, the Indian Men’s Selection Committee added Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the India squad for the fifth T20I against West Indies after Arshdeep Singh sustained a blow to his bowling shoulder during the fourth T20I of the series.
India’s updated T20I squad: Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan [WK], Sanju Samson [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Naman Dhir, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
