‘If Bumrah does not play..’ says Mohammad Kaif ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup. Former Indian player Mohammad Kaif stated that if Jasprit Bumrah does not play in the 2023 One-Day International World Cup, India will not be able to take the championship.
“The players who are injured, India’s chances in the World Cup will depend a lot on that (their return),” Kaif told PTI. Bumrah is on his way back from a long injury layoff, and we’ll see how fit he is.
“India requires a fully fit Bumrah to perform well in the World Cup at home.” It is not possible to have two bowling teams. We will lose if Bumrah does not play, as we did in the Asia Cup T20 and the 2022 T20 World Cup. “We don’t have his support,” he added.
Bumrah will captain the side in the T20 series in Ireland later this month, when he will make his comeback. It will be his debut series after being out for over a year due to back surgery.
Kaif also stated that the West Indies’ present playing lineup needs to be strengthened. “At the moment, the team does not appear to be the strongest on paper because it is missing key players such as KL Rahul, Pant, Iyer, and the most important factor is Bumrah,” added the 42-year-old.
India was chastised for experimenting in the ODI series in the Caribbean, resting skipper Rohit Sharma and allowing peripheral players to play.
“I won’t pass judgement on the team based on its performance on the West Indies tour.” If Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli needed a vacation, they should not have been included in the squad. I’ll evaluate them based on the Asia Cup and the 15 players they select for the competition. “From the Asia Cup onwards, they need to know who their 11 is and who their back-ups are,” Kaif stated.
