Opportunity to unearth a new champion: Ravi Shastri on Bumrah & Jadeja's  absence in T20 World Cup 

Indian team (PC: Twitter)

The former India head coach Ravi Shastri is optimistic about India's chances at the T20 World Cup slated to start later this month in Australia. He believes the Men in Blue have enough depth in their ranks to taste success in the showpiece event. 

The Indian team will be without their experienced players, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja in the World Cup. Bumrah sustained a stress fracture ahead of the T20I series against South Africa and was ruled out of the tournament after a scan, which revealed the back injury turned into a fracture. 

Jadeja underwent knee surgery after the Asia Cup, and Axar Patel was chosen as his replacement for the Australia and South Africa T20I series. Patel was also named in the T20 WC squad as well. 

The Indian contingent departed for Australia on Thursday (October 6), but the replacement of Bumrah is yet to be announced. The standby players, Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Shami are in the fray to be filling the boots of Bumrah. 

In this regard, Shastri thinks the absence of both key players will certainly affect the side, but terms it an opportunity for other players to step up and bring glory to the nation. 

"I think we have got enough strength and we have a good team. I have always believed if you make it to the semi-finals, it could be anyone's tournament," said Shastri. 

"Bumrah not being there, Jadeja not being there - it hampers the side - but it's an opportunity to unearth a new champion."

In the recent few series, Suryakumar Yadav has returned to be the finest batter for the Indian team, while the likes of Dinesh Karthik and top-order batters have been in sublime touch as well. 

It will be interesting to witness the performances of bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel, who have been rather leaking runs in crunch moments. 

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