Team India couldn’t qualify for the semi-final in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021. Although they won their final three games, it wasn’t enough for them to qualify as they had lost two consecutive matches against Pakistan and New Zealand. And, former England player Graeme Swann said that they need to improve their seam department as well.
He also claimed that there were many speedsters who did exceptionally well in the recently concluded Indian Premier League. He even said that those players even performed better than the ones India have selected for their T20 World Cup squad.
While speaking on Cricket.com’s YouTube channel, Swann said:
“I think in the seam bowling department, there are options who could come in. You’ve got the IPL, where you’ve got the greatest showcase for Indian seam bowlers there and I think there are people who were not involved in this World Cup who have outperformed those who are involved.”
“Of course, not Bumrah. Bumrah has got to play every game. Bumrah is brilliant. Especially in Australia, where the wickets are harder and the ball is going to go through, Jasprit is the first name on the team sheet. But as opposed to the other seamers, and I’m not just jumping on the bandwagon and having a go at Shami, because I think Shami does a good job. But I just think there are other seamers who have been incredible in the IPL,” he continued.Â
Graeme Swann also rated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fast bowler Harshal Patel, who won the purple cap, highly and stated that he will make a good pair with Jasprit Bumrah.
“You’ve got some great left-arm talent, mainly at Rajasthan. Harshal Patel. I think, Scotty Styris used to deride him that he gets lucky and gets wickets at the death, but he gets wickets. The fact that he gets wickets and he wins matches, I think if you put him alongside Jasprit Bumrah at the other end, along with the spin options in (Ravindra) Jadeja and (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Varun) Chakravarthy, you’ve got a brilliant team,” Graeme Swann again shared.
Ravichandran Ashwin should be in every team India pick – Graeme Swann
On the other hand, veteran India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has returned to the white-ball format after nearly 4 years. He had played his last T20I in 2017. He picked up six wickets in the last three matches where he had played.
When asked if Ashwin would get another chance in the T20 format of the game, Swann stated that he should play more as well.
“Ashwin should be in every team that India pick. His fielding is an issue these days. He’s slow and he’s dropped a few catches, but his bowling makes up for it. It really does. And I believe you’ve not got a lot of time left for a lot of players and you’ve got to use these players in the prime of their careers,” he further added.Â
“Because age catches up very quickly to these players and sooner or later, he won’t be able to perform at the same level and have as much of an impact. So you get the impact out of these players when you can and I’d be playing him every game,” concluded Graeme Swann.
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