Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Dinesh Karthik has opined that England captain Harry Brook will be a bigger wicket for India than the opening pair of Phil Salt and Jos Buttler, who have struggled with their form in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Brook has been in fine form and had scored a majestic century against Pakistan in the Super 8 clash. The right-hander has scored 228 runs in seven matches of the ongoing T20I showpiece at an average of 32.57 and a strike rate of 161.70.
Karthik said he would save Bumrah’s overs for Harry Brook and he would bowl the gun fast bowler in tandem with Varun Chakravarthy.
“I’ll introduce Bumrah later. I think the bigger wicket right now is Harry Brook. I will keep Bumrah for them. Bumrah and Chakaravarthy in tandem, which would be a great match-up to Brook. You need to knock him over early. Buttler and Salt, I think Arshdeep and Hardik are good matchups. Salt has had his fair share of struggles against Arshdeep. Hardik is someone who is known to be a wicket-taker. I will start with Hardik and Arshdeep,” Dinesh Karthik said on Sky Sports Cricket.
In the last couple of games, Bumrah has bowled one over in the Powerplay, one in the middle, and two at the death.
On the other hand, former England captain Michael Atherton said India has been clinical with the bat but they haven’t been at their best in the field and also with the ball.
“When I watch India, they’ve got an exceptionally strong batting line-up, I know it has not quite clicked yet, with Abhishek and the top order being key there. But I’ve watched their fielding, and they’ve looked a bit vulnerable in the field. They dropped three catches the other night. The bowling, I feel, is a good bowling attack, but if one of them has a bad day, then the spare bowler is not quite so obvious,” he explained.
Abhishek Sharma dropped two simple catches against the West Indies and the Indian team would want to be better in the field against Harry Brook’s team.
India will take on England in the second semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Thursday.
