Mohammed Shami Likely To Replace Jasprit Bumrah In India's T20 World Cup Squad: Report

Mohammed Shami was set to make his T20 comeback for India vs Australia T20 series. However, the pacer tested positive for Coronavirus which delayed his return.

Mohammed Shami will reportedly replace Jasprit Bumrah in India's T20 World Cup squad.

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New Delhi: In a big setback for team India, star seamer Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup squad due to a back injury. The star pacer also missed the Asia Cup 2022 due to his back problem and made a comeback in the last two T20Is against Australia. In next few days, BCCI is expected to officially announce a replacement for Bumrah in India's squad for the World Cup in Australia. Mohammed Shami, Deepak Chahar or Mohammed Siraj are the top names who might replace him in India's T20 WC 2022 squad.

According to a report in Times of India (TOI), BCCI will name senior seamer Mohammed Shami, who hasn't played a single T20I since the last T20 World Cup, as the official replacement for injured Jasprit Bumrah in the T20 World Cup squad. Shami was set to make his T20 comeback for India vs Australia T20 series. However, the pacer tested positive for Coronavirus which delayed his return.

It is also believed that the national selectors and team management wanted Shami to definitely play at least one T20 match before the T20 World Cup in Australia. However, that doesn't seem to be happening now as Ind vs SA 3rd T20I in Indore on Tuesday is India's last T20 assignment before the T20 World Cup 2022. 

The report also suggests that young pacer Mohammad Siraj, who was included in the Indian team as a replacement for Bumrah for the T20 series against South Africa, will be included in the standbys. 

"The team management is clear about the like-for-like backups. Chahar has been identified as one for Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bhuvneshwar is still the first-choice swing bowler. Shami was seen as a strike bowler as cover for Bumrah. So, Shami is ahead at this point. Siraj is scheduled to travel with the team as a standby," a BCCI source told TOI.