Veteran batsman Yuvraj Singh, who is a part of Mumbai Indians franchise in the ongoing Indian Premier League, has admitted that he doesn’t fancy facing Jasprit Bumrah in the nets.
Bumrah, the No.1 ranked ODI bowler in ICC rankings, has been in terrific form in IPL 2019. The speedster has taken 15 wickets in 13 games at an impressive economy rate of 6.70.
"I don't play him in the nets. I tell him not to bowl to me," Yuvraj quoted as saying by India Today.
He also backed Bumrah to be the standout bowler in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, slated to be held in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14.
"Jasprit Bumrah is probably one of the best three bowlers in the world. He wins games with the ball. He is best when he attacks. I am gunning for him to be the best bowler in the World Cup," Yuvi added.
Besides Bumrah, the Men in Blue also have the in-form Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as pacers in the World Cup squad. However, India’s spin department looks a bit thin with Kuldeep Yadav’s lacklustre showing in the ongoing IPL.
Kuldeep, who is expected to be a vital cog in India’s World Cup campaign, has claimed only 4 wickets in 9 games for Kolkata Knight Riders. In fact, the wrist spinner has been sidelined from KKR’s playing XI in the last four games due to “poor form”. Yuvraj, however, backs Kuldeep to weave his magic at the quadrennial tournament.
"I don't compare T20 with one day cricket. Kuldeep has been a fantastic bowler for India and I am sure he will bounce back. There are nine league games to be played at the World Cup and there would have been a worry if he was hit in a fifty overs competition. Our strength for a while has been to play with two spinners. And he has been extremely effective in England, South Africa, and Australia," he said.
The absence of a viable sixth bower is another worry for Team India leading up to the World Cup. Sharing his two cents on this issue, Yuvraj acknowledged the problem but he believes a change in playing conditions has made the part-timers' role more difficult.
"We have less bowling options. But earlier we had only four fielders in the circle so you could get four or five overs out of part-timers. But now with five fielders in the circle, it's very difficult to get that many overs out of them. That's why you need specialists. But they will have to get some overs out of whoever is playing at no.6 whether it is Kedar or Vijay Shankar. You may need to get four or five or sometimes 10 overs out of them. Let's see," he remarked.
