Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev has given his thoughts on India’s pace attack for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The Men in Blues has named only three seamers in the squad, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
Two out of three bowlers, Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are not at 100% as one has returned after a prolonged injury while the other is in rehabilitation with his availability remains uncertain.
Shami recently made his comeback to international cricket after 14 months and Kapil Dev commented on the fitness issues of the two pace stalwarts and said it won’t be difficult for Shami to return to his best due to his strong mindset.
However, he mentioned that it could take some time to get back into his rhythm again.
“It’s not that difficult to make a comeback from injury as a player has a strong mindset. However, there remains a question if he will be able to make the same impact with injury.
“It takes time, he will have to play a lot of matches unlike batters. If you haven’t bowled in the past six months or a year and are coming back from an injury, then it takes time to find your rhythm again.”
“Shami has massive ability, let’s hope he comes back fully recovered and doesn’t get injured again.”
“If a player needs more time to be fully fit, he should take it because injuries like these leave a fear in the bowler’s mind,” said Kapil Dev.
Futher, Kapil Dev also addressed Bumrah’s absence will be huge loss for the side in the tournament.
“Absolutely, there’s no doubt about that, what Jasprit Bumrah has achieved in the past two years, I don’t think any other fast bowler in the world has been able to do that. When big players like him get injured, it leads to problems for the team. Let’s hope, he makes a comeback soon,” he added.
Mohammed Shami and Bumrah were India’s highest wicket-takers during the 2023 ODI World Cup. While Shami was the leading wickettaker of the tournament with 24 scalps, Bumrah had 20 wickets to his name.
Coming to the tournament, India’s first match will be against Bangladesh on February 20 at Dubai International Stadium.
