CHENNAI: The Indian team was dealt a big blow earlier this week when pacer Jasprit Bumrah was officially ruled out of the upcoming T20 World Cup to be held in Australia with a back injury.
Bumrah is the second key player after allrounder Ravindra Jadeja to be missing the tournament. Jadeja is recuperating after a knee surgery last month. India fared poorly at the T20 World Cup in UAE last year where they failed to make the semifinals.
While there are many who feel Bumrah's absence will impact India's showing in the big ticket tournament, former coach Ravi Shastri is of a different view.
"Bumrah's injury is unfortunate. There is so much cricket being played, people can get injured easily. But it's an opportunity for somebody else (to excel) as there is nothing you can do with injury. With Bumrah and Jadeja not in the side --it hampers the side but also provides an opportunity to unearth a new champion," said Shastri on the sidelines launching Cricket Beyond and Omega Cricket Ground at the Lalaji Memorial Omega School here on Thursday. Coaching Beyond is a new initiative of former India coaches Shastri, B Arun and R Sridhar.
The 60-year-old feels India have enough depth to go deep into the tournament. "We've a good team. I believe that if you make it to the semifinals, then it could be anyone's tournament. So, the endeavour will be to start well, get to the semifinals and then you have got enough strengths there to probably win the World Cup," Shastri pointed out.
Mohammed Shami and Deepak Chahar are among the frontrunners to replace Bumrah in the squad. However, Shami -with his experience in Australia before -- may get the nod from the selectors.
