Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has expressed his opinion on Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement in India’s playing XI for the 2025 Champions Trophy. Ponting firmly believes that Arshdeep Singh is the ideal choice, as the left-arm pacer possesses a skill set similar to Bumrah’s.
Bumrah is set to miss the eight-team tournament due to a back injury sustained during India’s five-Test series in Australia. Arshdeep, who has featured in just nine ODIs so far, is among the three pacers in the squad, alongside Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana.
Speaking on the latest episode of ‘The ICC Review’, the Tasmanian acknowledged Rana’s talent but pointed out that his death-bowling ability is not on par with Arshdeep’s. He elaborated:
“I would go with the left-armer and I’d go with Arshdeep (to replace Bumrah). We know how good he’s been in T20 cricket and if you think about the skill set, he probably provides a similar skill set to what Bumrah does with new ball and death overs and that’s what India will miss.”
“That’s taking nothing away from Harshit Rana because I think he has got a lot of talent and we know what he can do with the new ball, but I don’t think his death skills are as good as what Arshdeep Singh’s are.”
In nine ODIs, Arshdeep Singh has taken 14 wickets at an average of 23, featuring in only the final match of India’s recent home series against England. His List A record is impressive, with 55 wickets in 33 games at an average of 24.30.
The 26-year-old has also excelled in T20Is, claiming 99 wickets in 63 matches, making him India’s leading wicket-taker in the format.
“Finding a replacement for him is extremely difficult”- Ricky Pointing on Jasprit Bumrah
Ricky Ponting believes that if any team has the depth to replace a player of Jasprit Bumrah‘s caliber, it is India. The 50-year-old further stated:
“I think we all felt that they were going to be one of the main dangers anyway. Even with Bumrah not being there, I mean, yes, it’s very hard to replace someone like that. But if any team can do it with the amount of talent that the Indians have got, it might be them.”
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