T20 World Cup 2022: "When you take one of the best players of the world out of any side, it's always really hard to replace that" - Ricky Ponting on Jasprit Bumrah's absence in the tournament 

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting feels that Jasprit Bumrah's absence is one of the reasons why Team India are yet to hit top gear at the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022. The right-arm pacer failed to recover in time for the tournament following a back injury and is likely to be next seen in action in 2023.

Team India had to reshuffle their entire bowling unit on account of injuries during the build-up to the tournament.

Injuries to Bumrah and Deepak Chahar paved the way for Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj to feature in Australia, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshal Patel retained their places.

Opining that it is hard for a side to remold once they lose a player of such high caliber, Ponting told journalist Vimal Kumar:

"I think one obvious omission for India is Bumrah not being there, when you take one of the best players of the world out of any side, in this sort of format, it's always really hard to replace that."

Baffled by the lack of big, mammoth scores made by Indian batters in the tournament so far considering the venues they have played in, Ponting added:

"I have actually been a little surprised, I thought a lot of their venues and the wickets being as quick and bouncy as they are, those really big scores have not been made so far."

Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav have shouldered the bulk of the scoring for Team India in the Super 12 stages. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul have not been among the runs on a consistent basis yet, although both have tallied a half-century each in the tournament.

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"I think India and South Africa will go through" - Ricky Ponting on the semi-final candidates from Group 2

As the tournament heads towards its business end, the qualification scenarios are constantly being updated as well. India and South Africa, who currently occupy the top two spots in the Group 2 of the Super 12 stage, are primed to make it to the semi-finals.

Pakistan hampered their chances of making it to the knockouts following defeats against India and Zimbabwe and now face an uphill battle, rife with several improbable situations.

Noting that he backs India and South Africa to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament, Ponting said:

"South Africa have been a bit of a surprise so far. Maybe a month out before the tournament started, the way things were tracking, I thought the winner of the tournament would be one of Australia, India, or England. I am not going to change away from that right now. I think India and South Africa will go through."

The Proteas are the sole unbeaten side left in the tournament. They could top the group if they beat Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday, November 3.

How have Team India fared so far in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah? Let us know what you think.

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