2020 World T20: Only one spot for grabs among pacers, says Kohli

Tags: West Indies tour of India 2019, India Vs West Indies,1st T20I at Hyderabad, Dec 06, 2019, India, Virat Kohli, T20I

Published on: Dec 07, 2019

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India captain Virat Kohli, while interacting with the media on Thursday, claimed that there is only one up for grabs in the seam bowling department as India works

India captain Virat Kohli, while interacting with the media on Thursday, claimed that there is only one up for grabs in the seam bowling department as India works towards building the squad for the World T20 in Australia next year. Kohli was speaking to the media ahead of the first T20I against West Indies in Hyderabad on Friday.

“The fight obviously is for one spot and I think more or less three guys have made a place for themselves. It’s going to be a healthy competition and it will be interesting to see how it pans out,” Kohli said, on the topic of fast bowlers.

The Windies T20Is will mark the comeback of both Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. While the in-form Shami last turned out for India in T20Is in 2017, Kumar previously played a T20 game for India against West Indies in August last year.

“It’s not that big an issue for us. I think Bhuvi and Bumrah are experienced bowlers. They have been very consistent in T20 cricket. Deepak (Chahar) has come in and has bowled really well,” Kohli stated, praising the Indian bowling attack.

“Shami is coming back and he is bowling really well. If he gets into a rhythm and specifically works on what’s required in T20 cricket then he will be very, very useful in places like Australia, especially with his ability to pick wickets with the new ball. He has enough pace to execute yorkers,” the skipper further added.

While Bumrah, Shami, and Bhuvneshwar are experienced campaigners, Chahar put his name in the reckoning for World T20 probables following a brilliant display in the series against Bangladesh. “Also a couple of more guys are under the scanner for sealing that spot along with three seamers. It’s a good position to be in because everyone is bowling really well,” Kohli asserted.

The first T20I of the series will be played at Hyderabad on December 6. The second will be held in Thiruvananthapuram on December 8, and the third one in Mumbai on December 11.

India's squad for the T20I series: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma (vice-capt), KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sanju Samson (wk)

--Renin Wilben Albert

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