Ever since Zaheer Khan bid adieu to international cricket, the Indian side has been in search of a quality left-arm seamer but failed to find the apt player with the right qualities. The men in blue have managed to find one of the World’s best seamers in the form of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar but when it comes to left-hand bowling option, the Indian side has tried and tested few which really didn’t click at the highest level which is required in International cricket.
When we talk about left-handed bowling, the first thing that comes to our mind is the angle the bowler brings in which at times poses a threat to the batsman. It’s the sort of angle that a right-hander fails to generate which is why a left-hander in the side is always a valuable asset for the captain.
With the T20 World Cup approaching in 2021, India will be looking to feature a left-handed bowling option in their squad. There are a few left-handers that have been going rounds in the IPL, which is why there is an almost certain possibility that India might choose to feature one of them in their squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Today we take a look at five left-handed bowling options the Indian side can look to feature in their squad for the T20 World Cup.
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Let’s take a look at the 5 left-handed fast bowling options for India in ICC T20 World Cup:
5. Jaydev Unadkat
The left-arm pace bowler from Saurashtra is known for being the million dollar man in the IPL and has had his fair share chances for the Indian side but hasn’t really made the impact of what is expected of him. In the IPL, playing for the Rajasthan Royals again hasn’t been able to put forward those necessary performances which would grant him an opportunity in the Indian side.
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In all this we tend to miss out the performances he has been giving for his stateside, he won the Ranji Trophy captaining the side and was also the highest wicket-taker last season but time and again his poor show in the IPL overshadows his extraordinary bowling performance in the domestic tournaments.
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4. Thangarasu Natarajan
Natarajan has just managed to impress everyone in India after the limited-overs series in Australia. He was picked in the Indian side on the basis of his outstanding bowling performance for the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise in the IPL. Where he mainly bowled in the death and had an excellent record as a death overs bowler. He is one bowler who bowls economical spells and at the same time manages to pick key wickets in the process.
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In the four matches, Natarajan played for Indian side he managed to be highly impressed with his line and length that too in his debut tour with the Indian side. Natarajan’s performance has been so impressive that, Virat Kohli has now openly said that they might just consider him for the T20 World Cup in India next year. Which is why Natarajan can be a serious consideration for the white-ball format in the long term.
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3. Yarra Prithviraj
Yarra Prithviraj is another left-arm pace bowler India can look to invest upon, the left pacer had got the pace and has been quite promising in the very little he represented his stateside. Prithviraj has played 11 first-class matches and has picked 39 wickets with his left-arm pace since 2017 and has also represented India-A.
In the recently concluded IPL, he replaced Bhuvaneshwar Kumar in the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad, prior to this he has also represented the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise in the previous edition.
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2. Arshdeep Singh
The Punjab born bowler made his mark in the playing for the India U19s in the 2018 U19 World Cup after which he was picked by the Kings XI Punjab franchise in 2018. Though the first couple of seasons didn’t yield Arshdeep the required dividends. It was in the 2020 IPL season when Arshdeep Singh showed his true character whilst playing for Kings XI Punjab. In the 8 matches, Arshdeep played he managed to pick up 9 wickets at an average of 16.55.
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If India are looking to groom a left-hand pace bowler, then Arshdeep might just be the most viable option considering the latter is still in his early twenties and has been highly impressive in the very little amount of matches he has played for Kings Xi Punjab and Punjab.
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1. Khaleel Ahmed
When Khaleel Ahmed was apart of the Delhi Daredevils franchise, he played under Zaheer Khan back then which really benefitted him to fair margin considering that the very next year he was picked in India’s squad for the 2018 Asia Cup in the UAE. Despite showing a lot of promise early on in his career, he wasn’t able to replicate immediate success at the international level. In the 11 matches Khaleel played for India in the ODI format, he has managed to pick up just 15 wickets at an average of 31 and moreover he was poor in the death overs which led to him getting dropped the side.
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Though Khaleel had a patchy start, the Indian side can still look to invest in the left-hand pace bowler as the bowler who showed so much promise to Indian legend Zaheer Khan definitely has it him to represent India for further more matches.
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