Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has urged India to back the bowling quartet of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy in the playing XI of the T20 World Cup 2026. While Bumrah is going to be the first-choice pacer in the team, Chakravarthy will be the first-choice spinner.

Ashwin said India also has the services of talismanic all-rounders – Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya. The former all-rounder said India must back the bowling battery as the bowlers had played an instrumental role in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 success. However, the team management has paid more importance to batting depth in the recent past.

“You know Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, and Arshdeep in your line-up. Why do you want to drop these four bowlers? You have Axar and Hardik as well. We have six bowling options. Why are you worried then? We can lose having eight batters and six bowlers also. We can lose with seven batters and four bowlers also. Winning and losing are not associated here. We won the T20 World Cup because of our bowling attack. Remember that. Back the bowling. We have good bowlers,” Ashwin said on ‘Ash ki Baat’.

Ashwin added it won’t be easy for the opposition’s batters to read Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy. Furthermore, Bumrah is one of the best bowlers in the world and the gun pacer would want to be at his best. 

“There are very few batters in today’s T20 landscape who can read Kuldeep and Varun. Batters who can properly hit Bumrah are very few. Bowlers with brains like Arshdeep who can swing the ball and do well at the death as well, and back themselves are very few. If there is an opportunity, I will play my best four bowlers. You give this team to anyone in the world, and they will play these four,” he reflected.

India will begin their T20 World Cup defence against the USA on February 7.