Siraj or Shami? Gavaskar picks Bumrah replacement 

Jasprit Bumrah in his last outing against Australia before getting injured

A lot of debate is being thrown around circling the topic of who should be Jasprit Bumrah's replacement following a back stress fracture that ruled him out of the upcoming T20 World Cup. The top two contenders for the place are veteran pacer Mohammad Shami and youngster Mohammed Siraj. 

In India's recent outing against South Africa in an ODI series Siraj has proved his worth by performing brilliantly. Shami who has only recently recovered from COVID has faced his share of concerns regarding his fitness before the World Cup. 

Indian lineup in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah 

The Indian management had put all it's faith and confidence in Bumrah, the leader of the pace attack. In what came as an awful setback for the Indian team, Bumrah's injury has led to the instability of the lineup. India's inability to handle the death overs without Bumrah has been quite visible. Raising questions as to whether the replacement bowler will be able to take on the responsibilities of the star bowler. 

Sunil Gavaskar on the debate 

"No doubting his (Siraj) quality. Just the fact that he (Shami) has not played any cricket. It's never easy to comeback after Covid. Your stamina can be a little bit of suspect - I know it's a four over game in T20I cricket. But look at the way Siraj has been bowling. He's bowling brilliantly.”

Siraj against SA

In the 2nd ODI against the Proteas, Siraj displayed a match winning bowling performance. With the figures of 3 for 38. He proved that he is an asset in the white-ball format and takes regular wickets in the powerplay. 

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