Veteran India opener Gautam Gambhir (AFP Image)
Gautam Gambhir feels that India should have also played tearaway pacer Prasidh Krishna for the Nepal clash.
Former opener Gautam Gambhir feels that India should have gone with the three genuine fast bowlers in the Asia Cup 2023 encounter against Nepal on Monday. Premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah missed the match as he returned to India for the birth of his first child as the Men in Blue made one change to their XI from the last match against Pakistan. Mohammad Shami returned to the XI in place of Bumrah as India made only one change in the XI.
However, Gambhir feels that India should have also played tearaway pacer Prasidh Krishna for the Nepal clash.
“Mohammed Shami and Prasidh Krishna. I wanted to see three fast bowlers, three genuine fast bowlers and see how that combination comes,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.
Gambhir emphasised that everyone knows what Shardul brings to the side but having three genuine pacers could have helped India try something different.
“The most important thing is that we all know that what Shardul Thakur brings to the table. Yes, he can bowl one change, he can do a bit of batting at number eight. But yet India could have gone with Mohammed Shami and Prasidh Krishna in this game,” he added.
Krishna made his return to international cricket on Ireland tour after a long injury lay-off. The team management backed him and included him in the 17-member squad for the Asia Cup which has kept him in the fray for ODI World Cup.
Meanwhile, India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first as he wanted his bowlers to get some game time which they didn’t get during the Pakistan clash.
“We are gonna bowl first. No particular reason. We batted in the last game. We want to see what the bowlers have in offer for us. I don’t know about the weather. We just want to have the bowlers to have a game under the belt. The way we batted under pressure, Hardik and Ishan batted brilliantly. Ishan showed a lot of maturity and took the game on as well. Good signs for us. It’s another important game for us. One change. Bumrah is not available, we’ve got Shami in,” Rohit said at the toss.
