3 Bowlers who might replace Jasprit Bumrah in the 2nd T20I against South Africa

In a major setback for the Indian team, senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the ongoing three-match T20I series against South Africa. The 28-year-old has sustained a stress fracture in the back part of his body. After this major exclusion from the squad, the Indian team management is dealing with the conundrum to replace Bumrah with a fair option.

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There are a couple of options the skipper and management might opt to include in the playing XI of the second match of the series against the visitors. So, here we’ll have a look at three Indian bowlers who can replace the Ahmedabad-based speedster in the playing XI of the match.

Mohammed Siraj

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The Hyderabad pacer is known for his excellence in the longest format of the game. Mohammed Siraj has also shown his brilliance with the ball recently in the County Championship Division one. He played for Worcestershire and scalped a total of six wickets in the match with a five-wicket haul.

Looking at his performance in the white-ball format, then Siraj has bowled a couple of crucial overs for the Indians in his last four appearances. The 28-year-old scalped four wickets in the recent outings against West Indies and Zimbabwe. Although, he hasn’t had many chances in the T20Is for India. So, keeping a gamble with his current form, skipper Rohit Sharma can use him as a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah.

Umesh Yadav

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The senior pacer has recently made his comeback in T20I cricket after a long wait of almost three and a half years. He appeared for India in the first of the three-match T20I series against Australia. He scalped two important wickets of Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell for India while bowling in his comeback.

The 34-year-old has played only eight T20Is for the Indian team since his debut in the shortest format of the game. As Umesh is coming off with a match practice so he might be a perfect like-to-like replacement for the ace speedster. The management might count on him once again in the second of the three-match T20I series against the Proteas.

Yuzvendra Chahal

Shikhar Dhawan, Yuzvendra Chahal (Image Credit : Twitter)

The senior leggie was not a part of the playing XI in the first of the three-match T20I series against South Africa. Although, he got to play in all three matches of the T20I series against Australia. Apart from that, Chahal has scalped six wickets in the last five T20I appearances for the men in blue. He is also a part of the Indian squad for the 20-20 World Cup 2022.

So, it will also be important for the management to give match practice to the 32-year-old ahead of the marquee tournament. Keeping that in consideration, he might be there in the Indian playing XI in the role of a specialist spinner to accompany the star pace duo of Deepak Chahar and Arshdeep Singh.