Former Indian cricketer and commentator Dinesh Karthik has backed Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh as his four pace options for the forthcoming ODI World Cup next year.
Speaking on his Instagram handle, Karthik reckoned that Gurnoor Brad could be one of the pacers to miss out on the mega event after being expensive so far. He further asserted that he doesn’t see Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the Indian pace line-up.
“They will look closely at Prasidh Krishna. Gurnoor Brar has shown talent, but he has proved to be expensive. The other two names that need to be discussed, as there have been a lot of calls for them, are Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Shami has been so consistent and good. And Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a showstopper and somebody who has shown that he’s getting even better with age. But I doubt whether India will go back to these two pacers, even with Ajit Agarkar moving out of the selection committee,” Dinesh Karthik said on his Instagram handle.
Subsequently, Karthik expressed his disappointment over Indian bowlers conceding more than 1000 runs in the just-concluded three-game ODI series, which India won by 2-1. In the third ODI, India posted 351/7, and the West Indies chased it down in 48.2 overs with five wickets to spare.
“The definite pacers for the World Cup should be Bumrah, Siraj, and Harshit Rana because he gives you batting at No.8. The backup pacer is a toss-up between Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna. But I feel Arshdeep, with his left-arm angle, brings a nice dynamic to South Africa, which definitely will have something in it for the pacers in the early part of the summer,” he added.
“The bowling attack has been under the scanner, especially in the last West Indies series that went by. They gave 1000+ runs in three games. But in fairness to Gill and Gambhir, they’ve not had the full-fledged ODI side for some time. Bumrah hasn’t played, Hardik hasn’t been around, and Harshit Rana has been injured. So there are plenty of reasons why this inexperienced bowling attack has gone for plenty on flat pitches,” he concluded.
India will begin their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 campaign against Australia in Cape Town on October 7, 2027, while the overall tournament starts on October 2, 2027, with the preliminary Super Series phase.
