Jasprit Bumrah the Only Pacer Guaranteed for T20 World Cup, Chance for Others to Impress

Right now, Jasprit Bumrah is the only pacer who seems certain to be included in India's team for the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States next year.

It will therefore be a test for the pace quartet of Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, and Avesh Khan to not only make an impression but also have a ticket booked for the flight to South Africa for the three T20Is that begin on December 10. The five-match T20I series against Australia begins in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.

On December 3, one week after the Australia matches conclude, the South Africa T20Is begin. The four quicks will undoubtedly be vying for a spot in those games as well, as they are a crucial component of India's T20 Cup preparation and will help them remain competitive for the June showcase.

Of course, there will be more possibilities in the future, such as the two-and-a-half-month-long Indian Premier League. Currently, nevertheless, the four of them place the most priority on the Twenty20 International matches against Australia and South Africa.

The fact that they were chosen for the Australia series shows that these four

Fast bowlers are being watched closely, with a focus on the T20 World Cup in June, an insider with the BCCI told The Telegraph on Tuesday.

Even though Mohammed Siraj is a regular in 50-over cricket, he doesn't appear to exude much confidence in the shorter format. Regarding Mohammed Shami, who finished with 24 wickets in the recently ended ODI World Cup, the national selectors would rather mark him exclusively for Tests and ODIs.

Apart from Bumrah, no other pacer is guaranteed a spot in the T20I squad. Siraj has performed well in ODIs, but he hasn't yet made the same type of impact in T20s.

Selectors want to keep Shami wrapped up in cotton wool. Given his performance, they want Shami to remain fresh for the larger events.

They don't want to take a chance on him in T20s because if he gets hurt, they may not be able to use him in Tests. Anything the team wouldn't want," the source from the Board said.

In the next four months, India will play five Tests at home against England and two away against the Proteas as part of the present World Test Championship cycle.

Returning to the five games against the Australia team captained by Matthew Wade, Arshdeep and Prasidh, the left-armers, would be the main emphasis. His ball-swinging prowess

Arshdeep had gained a spot in the T20 World Cup of the previous year by bowling the yorker in the arduous overs and going both ways.

concluded as the leading wicket-taker for India with ten scalps from

Six titles.

The 24-year-old performed well at home against New Zealand earlier in January of this year, turning up respectable performances in the two-match series in Ireland as

as well as the Hangzhou Asian Games. However, during the August trip to the West Indies,

Arshdeep may need to improve on his ability to precisely time his lengths at key moments.

Speaking about Prasidh, he has only played in two Twenty20 Internationals (both against Ireland) despite being included in the ODI Cup team as a substitute for the injured Hardik Pandya. That too, having come back after a protracted absence due to injury.

Avesh and Mukesh, two Bengal quicks who were in the Asian Games squad, will also be vying for their opportunities in the starting XI. Though he struggled a little in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, Mukesh did have a stronger IPL season this year for the Delhi Capitals. He also showed promise at times against the Windies.

Avesh should also exercise caution since he may be quite unpredictable at times.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.