The West Indies and the United States will host the T20 World Cup this year from June 2 to June 29. The BCCI revealed the 15-member India team on Tuesday. However, former Indian cricketer Madan Lal has voiced worries over India's bowling assault, namely the inclusion of Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh in the starting lineup for the forthcoming T20 World Cup.
While the preliminary squad's batting lineup includes players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Suryakumar Yadav, Arshdeep, Jasprit Bumrah, and Siraj lead the pace attack, while Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan are the team's backup choices.
Except for Jasprit Bumrah, the 1983 World Cup-winning all-rounder feels that the speed attack is insufficient. Lal stated in a special interview with TimesofIndia.com, 'I object to the tempo attack. Apart from Jasprit Bumrah, it's not very good. Siraj has had some success here and there, but his results have been inconsistent while competing internationally. India is, in my opinion, becoming less proficient at pace.'
Furthermore, according to Lal, Bumrah will be largely relied upon by this bowling lineup to provide wickets and game-winning performances. In his statement, 'Not only in T20 cricket, you need a good pacer who can get you the wickets to win matches,' he underlined the need to have a formidable pace attack. Bumrah wins matches and takes wickets. Watch how Siraj does, please. If not, India would heavily depend on Bumrah. The issue is that India needed a second pacer.
'History shows that India was only successful when they had a strong pace assault. They won a lot of matches only then. However, I am unsure about both Siraj and Arshdeep. Additionally, Pandya is not very effective. The team management has taken a gamble on him, in my opinion. The weak point is the pace lineup. We need to observe how Siraj and Arshdeep bowl in addition to Bumrah,' the 73-year-old said. In an interview with TimesofIndia.com, Lal expressed his reservations over the bowling attack, saying, 'Looking at the bowling side, I am not getting that much confidence.'
Lal stated, 'If I had a chance (to pick one), I would've picked Natarajan,' in response to a question on his ideal selection for the bowling attack. Thangarasu Natarajan is the current death-over specialist for Sunrisers Hyderabad. He is a decent bowler towards the end, I would have attested to that. Mayank Yadav ought to be older. He does bowl quickly, but the question is whether or not he could continue. However, Natarajan has been performing it in each match.'
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