"Bumrah's going to be huge loss, but they still have..." Ponting names player who can shine against Australia in WTC final
May 19, 2023
New Delhi [India], May 19 : Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting believes even though star pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah will be a huge loss for the Indian team in the World Test Championship final, there is a bowler who has the potential to bowl well in English conditions.
On April 15, Jasprit Bumrah underwent surgery on his lower back in New Zealand which was successful and he remained pain-free. The fast bowler was advised by the specialist to start his rehab six weeks after the surgery and accordingly, Bumrah commenced his rehab management at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
Due to this, he was sidelined from the WTC final squad. But Ponting believes that Mohammad Shami could step up, a player who can bowl well under conditions which are suited for pace bowlers.
"Obviously they will miss [Jasprit] Bumrah, he's going to be a huge loss for them, but they still have the likes of [Mohammed] Shami, who will actually bowl well in English conditions," Ponting said at an event in New Delhi.
Along with this, he reckons that Virat Kohli will be another name that could turn out to be a game-changer for the Indian team. On Thursday Kohli struck his sixth century in the Indian Premier League which reflects that the Indian batter is back to his level best.
"When it comes to the big match-ups, Virat [Kohli] against anyone is going to be a big match-up. I caught up with him when we were there in Bangalore, and I had a good chat with him about his batting and where he's at in his career and he said to be that he's back to his absolute best and I think we saw that last night [Kohli made his sixth IPL century on Thursday night], he's had a very good IPL," Ponting signed off.
India will face Australia on June 7 in the World Test Championship final at the Oval, England.
