Asia Cup 2022: It is respite for other teams – Harbhajan Singh on the absence of Jasprit Bumrah

Former Indian veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh believes it is a respite for other teams as Jasprit Bumrah won’t play in the Asia Cup 2022 due to injury. Bumrah was ruled out of the multi-team tournament due to a back injury.

The gun fast bowler is known for his accurate yorkers at the fag end of the innings and he can also breathe down the neck of the opposition batters with his nagging line and length in the PowerPlay overs.

The ace paceman was in prolific form in the ODI series against England. Bumrah took eight wickets in two ODI matches and destroyed the home team in the first ODI as he returned with impressive figures of 6-19. Bumrah also took two wickets in the one T20I he played against the home team.

Furthermore, Harshal Patel has been ruled out with a side strain injury while Mohammad Shami was not picked by the national selectors for the Asia Cup despite performing well in the ODI series against England. Shami had last played for the national team in the 2021 T20 World Cup in the shortest format of the game.

Harbhajan Singh feels the bowling unit of the team looks slightly weak but experienced spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja will play a key role.

“Jasprit Bumrah is an extra-ordinary bowler. If you see his performances over the past two years, he has had quite an impact. This year he also became the captain. So him being not there is a respite for the other teams. He is a bowler who can turn the tide of the game,” said Harbhajan in a video uploaded on Sports Tak.

“Mohammed Shami and Harshal Patel are also not there. So the bowling of the Indian team looks slightly weak to me. But India has better spinners. Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin have a lot of experience, they can help the team win,” he added.

There is no doubt that India is going to miss the services of Jasprit Bumrah. In the absence of Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will lead the pace attack of the team along with Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan.

Kumar has all the experience under his belt and he will look to get the best out of himself and the two young pacers.