Legendary batter Virender Sehwag has raised concerns over India’s bowling credentials heading into the T20 World Cup Super 8s. The Suryakumar Yadav-led team achieved an unbeaten record through their group matches by winning all four contests which allowed them to proceed to the next round. Although the defending champions easily defeated their Group A opponents who included their main rivals Pakistan Sehwag indicated that India has not yet faced a significant test in the competition. The Super 8 match between India and South Africa will take place on Sunday because both teams completed their group matches without losing any games while Sehwag pointed out that the bowling staff still needs to provide solutions to their existing problems.
“I don’t think India have been challenged yet. India performed poorly during their first game but they have maintained a steady performance throughout their subsequent matches. The Super 8s will serve as the actual evaluation period for teams. India scored 193 runs today while they permitted their opponents to score 176 runs. India needs to assess their bowling performance. The bowling unit needs to show us how it will perform against a stronger batting team according to Sehwag. Sehwag made his statement during a Cricbuzz discussion.
The veteran pacer explained the current situation of India’s death bowling unit to the audience during the same session.
On Wednesday, India defeated the Netherlands by 17 runs, with the Dutch managing 176/7 in response to India’s 193/6 in Ahmedabad.
“There is still doubt over which combination India will go with in the Super 8s. If you have an all-rounder like Axar Patel at No. 8, then who bowls at the death? If a team like the Netherlands can ask questions in the death overs, then bigger challenges are coming. If Arshdeep is there, you can be a little flexible since he can bowl alongside Bumrah at the death,” Mohit noted.
In the Super 8s, India will take on South Africa on February 22 in Ahmedabad, then move to Chennai to face Zimbabwe, before concluding their phase in Kolkata against the West Indies