‘Mohammed Siraj will be my replacement for Jasprit Bumrah’ – Shane Watson

India were dealt with a major blow on Monday as their star pacer Jasprit Bumrah got ruled out of the upcoming T20 World Cup with a stress fracture in the back.

The 28-year-old complained of back pain after playing the second and third T20Is against Australia, and was subsequently ruled out of the T20I series against South Africa. Now the BCCI medical team has ruled him out of the mega event as well after proper assessment. They are yet to name any replacement for Bumrah, though. But former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson believes that Mohammed Siraj will be the ideal replacement for Bumrah as he offers pace and ability to hit the deck hard, both of which are necessary attributes to bowl on Australian tracks.

“The player I would put in if Jasprit is not available is Mohammad Siraj, because of the firepower he presents. Without Bumrah, that’s the one thing India won’t necessarily have, which is vital on Australian wickets on the bigger grounds with the pace and bounce,” Watson said on the ICC Review Show.

“Siraj is great with the brand-new ball. He is fast, he swings the ball away but also his defensive skills are pretty good. And he has got better over the last couple of years, with what we have seen in the IPL. So, for me he is probably going to be the one who is going to have the most impact,” Watson added.

Siraj has made himself a vital cog of India’s pace attack, ever since his inspirational performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. He has picked up 40 wickets from 13 Tests for India so far. Even though his white-ball numbers are a bit underwhelming, he has shown in the IPL that he has the necessary skills to fill the void created by Bumrah’s absence.

Watson, though, still believes that Bumrah’s absence is going to impact India’s chances of winning the T20 World Cup in a huge manner.

“Honestly, I think it’s going to have a huge impact on India’s chances of winning the T20 World Cup,” Watson said.

“He is one of the best bowlers in the world and India in particular, with their fast bowlers, he is the main guy who can take wickets with the brand-new ball but also is an incredible defensive bowler at the back end of the game. So, if Jasprit is not available to play in this T20 World Cup, then India’s chances drop quite a bit.”