Australian legend Ricky Ponting feels Mohammed Shami’s power lies within the longest format and there are higher fast bowlers in India’s T20 arrange, weighing in on his absence from the Asia Cup squad.
India have picked Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh because the three specialist quick bowlers with all-rounder Hardik Pandya being the fourth pacer within the 15-member squad.
“He’s (Shami) has been a really, excellent bowler for India for a very long time now. If you have a look at his strengths, his Test cricket might be the place he thrives essentially the most,” Ponting, a two-time World Cup-winning captain, mentioned within the newest episode of The ICC Review.
“I think there are better fast bowlers in Indian T20 cricket than Shami and they’ve only named three (for the Asia Cup). So if there’s potentially four named in the squad he might be the fourth man in.” With Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel nursing accidents, many felt Shami is perhaps included to share the new-ball duties in the course of the Asia Cup.
“I would think they’ll probably only have the four quicks coming to Australia. They’ll still want to bring a lot of spin here even though the wickets are probably not that conducive,” Ponting mentioned.
The Asia Cup will likely be held in Dubai and Sharjah from August 27 to September 11 and Ponting picked India because the favorites to win the event.
“It’s always hard to go past India in any tournament, not just an Asia Cup, but I think every time we talk about the T20 World Cup which is coming up, I think that India will be right in the thick of it there,” the 47-year-old mentioned.
“Their depth is definitely better than the other teams and I think India will win the Asia Cup.” Arch-rivals India and Pakistan have not competed in a bilateral collection for almost a decade now.
“To be totally honest it’s one that we’ve been starved of, haven’t we … looking back the last 15 or 20 years,” Ponting mentioned.
“As a cricket lover like I’m and a cricket observer, any time these types of battles come up it is virtually at all times good to take a seat again and watch as a result of the whole lot simply goes up a notch, would not it?
“When I think about rivalries, Australia and England and Ashes cricket is the pinnacle I’ve always thought of for our Test match game. I’m sure India and Pakistanis will say the same about that and the actual rivalry would be the pinnacle of Test match cricket for those two countries as well.” Ponting believes India have the depth to prevail over Pakistan.
“I’ll stick with India to win that clash against Pakistan. That’s taking nothing away from Pakistan because they are an incredible cricket nation that continue to present out-and-out superstar players.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
