India have picked Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh as the three specialist fast bowlers, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya being the fourth pacer in the 15-man squad for the Asia Cup.
India have picked Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh as the three specialist fast bowlers, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya being the fourth pacer in the 15-man squad for the Asia Cup.
Australian legend Ricky Ponting feels Mohammed Shami’s strength lies in the longest format and India’s better pacer in the T20 set, weighing in on his absence from the Asia Cup squad.
India have picked Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh as the three specialist fast bowlers, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya being the fourth fast bowler in the 15-man squad.
Two-time World Cup winning captain Ponting said, “He (Shami) has been a very good bowler for India for a long time. If you look at his strength, his Test cricket is probably where he flourishes the most. ” , said in the latest episode of ICC Review.
“I think there are better fast bowlers in Indian T20 cricket than Shami and he has named only three (for the Asia Cup). So if there are potentially four names in the team then he could be the fourth man. ” Due to injuries to Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel, many felt that Shami could be included to share the duties of the new ball during the Asia Cup.
Ponting said, “I think they will only have four fast bowlers coming to Australia. They still want to bring a lot of spin here, although the wickets are probably not favorable.”
The Asia Cup will be held in Dubai and Sharjah from August 27 to September 11 and Ponting picked India as the favorites to win the tournament.
“It’s always tough to go ahead of India in any tournament, not just Asia Cup, but I think every time we talk about T20 World Cup, I think India will be right in it. ” said the 47-year-old.
“Their depth is definitely better than other teams and I think India will win the Asia Cup.” Arch rivals India and Pakistan have not competed in a bilateral series for almost a decade.
“To be completely honest, we’re not looking back over the last 15 or 20 years,” Ponting said.
“A cricket lover like me and as a cricket observer, whenever a fight like this happens, it’s almost always good to sit back and watch because everything just goes up a notch, isn’t it?” I think about Australia and England and Ashes cricket is the pinnacle I have always thought about in my Test match game. I am sure India and Pakistanis will say the same about it and the real rivalry will be the pinnacle of Test match cricket for those two countries as well.” Ponting believes India has the depth to dominate Pakistan.
“I will be with India to win that clash against Pakistan. It’s not taking anything away from Pakistan because they are an incredible cricketing nation who continue to produce superstar players in and out.”