Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has excluded Jasprit Bumrah from his list of the top threats for opposing teams in India’s T20I squad. Bumrah, a key player for India since his debut in 2016, was named Player of the Tournament in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 victory with 15 wickets.
Ashwin, despite acknowledging Bumrah’s performances, believes that the real threats for opponents are Varun Chakravarthy and Abhishek Sharma. Ashwin emphasized that teams aiming to win the T20 World Cup 2026 in India must overcome these two players.
In a statement on his YouTube channel, Ashwin mentioned, “To secure victory in the T20 World Cup, teams must focus on countering Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy.” He also highlighted the likelihood of teams adopting Australia’s strategy of targeting Abhishek Sharma with short balls.
India recently defeated Australia in the 4th T20I, taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Suryakumar Yadav’s team successfully defended a total of 167 runs, restricting Australia to 119. Washington Sundar stood out with figures of 3/3, supported by Shivam Dube and Axar Patel who both claimed two wickets each.
Additionally, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, and Arshdeep Singh secured one wicket each in the match. With a comprehensive 48-run victory, India now leads the series 2-1, with the final match set to be held in Brisbane on November 8.