India captain Virat Kohli on Thursday said there is only one spot left to be filled in the team’s pace attack for next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia, indicating that Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami are almost certain to make the cut.
“The fight obviously is for one spot and I think more or less three guys have made a place for themselves. It’s going to be a healthy competition and it will be interesting to see how it pans out,” Kohli said.
Referring to India’s problem of plenty in pace bowling, Kohli said, as a captain, he couldn’t have been happier.
“It’s not that big an issue for us. I think Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar) and (Jasprit) Bumrah are experienced bowlers. They have been very consistent in T20 cricket. Deepak (Chahar) has come in and has bowled really well,” he told reporters.
“(Mohammed) Shami is coming back and he is bowling really well. If he gets into a rhythm and specifically works on what’s required in T20 cricket then he will be very, very useful in places like Australia, especially with his ability to pick wickets with the new ball. He has enough pace to execute yorkers,” he added.
“Also couple of more guys are under the scanner fo r sealing that spot along with three seamers. It’s a good position to be in because everyone is bowling really well,” the India captain said.
Kohli was also honest enough to admit India’s problems in T20 cricket.
“I don’t think we have been very good while batting first in T20 cricket and defending low totals as well. So those are two things we really need to focus on,” he said.
The duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, will also reunite after a long time. Besides Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja are also in the squad.
And Kohli hinted that all the four could earn a ticket to Australia.
“Having two wrist spinners is big advantage when you are playing in Australia in big fields. There might be some games where both might play together. But in T20 cricket, it’s all about balance and predominantly we see one guy playing with Jadeja and Washy (Sundar) because it gives us all kinds of variety in the bowling attack.
“You need to have six bowling options in T20 cricket. That’s the basic rule. You can’t go with five expecting everyone to bowl four good overs. I think that is the balance we need to create,” he said.