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Sanjay Bangar says no bowler can match Jasprit Bumrah’s impact on India’s ODI team. With Bumrah injured, spinners like Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy must step up.
Jasprit Bumrah hasn’t played in ODIs since the 2023 World Cup. (AFP Photo)
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar believes that no bowler can effectively replace the injured Jasprit Bumrah’s impact on the national ODI side and so, for the upcoming ODI series against England, the team will need to find his wickets from somewhere else — through spinners in the middle-overs.
Bumrah injured his back last December and has been out since. The assessments are ongoing but there’s no clarity on when he can be back or if he’ll be there with the team for the 2025 Champions Trophy, which begins soon after the England ODIs on February 19. Some reports said he was targeting the third ODI against England but the BCCI didn’t add him in the team when they included spinner Varun Chakaravarthy on Tuesday.
“In the absence of Bumrah, the bowling will have to depend on other aspects, maybe a Kuldeep Yadav doing a lot of damage in the middle overs,” Bangar said on Star Sports. “Or for that matter, I also see that Varun Chakravorty has been included. So, in case Bumrah is unavailable, then they may want to push the teams back through the middle overs so that in the last 10 overs, they may not have to face situations wherein the team would generally be dependent on Bumrah sort of a situation. Jasprit Bumrah’s absence cannot be filled by any bowler at the moment.”
Chakaravarthy is yet to make his ODI debut but has a stellar List-A record and is coming off a 14-wicket run against England in the five-T20I series.
Format and past performances will give Kohli, Rohit confidence: Bangar
Bangar also spoke about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s return to their favorite format after six months of struggles in Tests. He said they’ll be more confident because of their past ODI success but their approach needs to be assessed before making a judgement on their future.
“See, both these players will go down as the best white ball players of all times. If you make a list of all-time greats in 50-over cricket, they are automatic choices. So, the format and their past performances would certainly give them a lot of confidence in the way they would approach,” Bangar said.
“So, I mean, how would Rohit approach at the top of the innings is something which will be very interesting because he’s had a run of low scores. So, once you see maybe one innings or so, or maybe two innings, then we will have an idea as to the approach that both these players will be taking into the 50-over format. And the assessment will have to be not only the ODI series, but also the Champions Trophy. So, we will have a real insight, a clear insight in their approach,” he added.
