Murali Kartik picks Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah as India’s X-Factor for Asia Cup

Former Indian spinner Murali Kartik has picked captain Suryakumar Yadav and gun fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah as India’s X-factor for the upcoming Asia Cup. Bumrah will make a comeback to T20Is after a more than a year-long gap and he will look to hit the ground running.

The ace pacer came under scrutiny after he played only three out of the five Test matches against England. On the other hand, Yadav could only manage 28 runs in five T20Is against England at an average of 5.60 and a strike rate of 116.66 and thus failed to lead from the front. However, the Indian skipper would look to turn the tables in the continental tournament.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Murali Kartik said, “Suryakumar Yadav, he is the X factor along with Jasprit Bumrah. What Jasprit Bumrah is to bowling, he is to batting in T20 for India. And he has been brilliant, and that is one of the reasons why he was the leading batter in T20 internationals. But his own form, and also keeping in mind that the T20 World Cup is going to be back, also again his own alliance with Gautam Gambhir, and all of that will be in scrutiny or under scrutiny in this Asia Cup.”

Kartik added that Bumrah’s return to the T20I team has strengthened India’s side.

“Boom boom is back and I think it’s a big big value addition. We all know what a wonder kid he is, what a genius of a bowler he is, and every time he plays in any side he is the bowler to look out for. Think of this, his last T20 game was the World Cup final and since 2023, he has played 35 T20s. His average is 14.29. His comeback means the world to the Indian bowling lineup.”

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill has been appointed as T20I vice-captain and he has tipped to lead India across all formats. Kartik said there are signs that the Indian board is looking at Gill as an all-format leader after he has been given Test captaincy.

“Gil’s come back into the shortest format. We all know that he has been elevated as the Test captain. We saw how good a series that was for a young captain in England, and he has been elevated as the vice-captain of the T20 side behind Suryakumar Yadav, which means that he’s going to be playing in the XI. We saw how good he was with Gujarat Titans and how good a player he is. So, what sort of value addition is it going to be for Suryakumar Yadav? Again, there is a Test captain, he’s the vice-captain of the T20 side. Is it a help or is it going to be a bit of an encumbrance? We will find out.”

“But again, he has had an understanding with Gautam Gambhir over the last two or three months. Suryakumar himself has won, so it’s going to be interesting. And not to forget that being an opener in the shortest format, will he open in the side? And also, do India look at him as an all-format captain? I think that is something which we will find out over the course of time. But again, signs are there that they are looking at him like that,” he added.

Gill is expected to open the innings in the upcoming Asia Cup.