Asia Cup 2022: "He will not be missed that much in the death overs" - Sanjay Bangar on India's bowling in Jasprit Bumrah's absence

Sanjay Bangar reckons Team India will miss Jasprit Bumrah's services more in the middle overs than at the death in the Asia Cup 2022.

The continental T20 tournament will be played in the UAE from August 27 to September 11. Bumrah is not part of the 15-member Indian squad for the tournament due to a back injury.

During an interaction on the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues', Bangar was asked about his views on India's bowling attack in Bumrah's absence. He responded:

"Arshdeep is a good option who bowls good yorkers, has a lot of control and an excellent temperament to bowl in the death overs. So he (Bumrah) will not be missed that much in the death overs but the Indian team will definitely feel his absence in the middle overs."

Bangar wants Bhuvneshwar Kumar to shoulder greater responsibilities both with the new ball and at the death in his trusted seam-bowling partner's absence. The former Indian batting coach elaborated:

"Bhuvneshwar Kumar will have to take greater responsibility and that means bowling two overs at the start and then again bowling two overs in the last four overs, which is his strength. I feel the one over where the team uses Bumrah in the middle overs, there his absence will definitely be felt."

Apart from Bhuvneshwar and Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan is the only other specialist seamer in India's squad. It will be interesting to see if they field all three pacers in the playing XI or go with Hardik Pandya as the third seam-bowling option.

---

"He knows how to play with the batter's mind" - Sanjay Bangar on Team India's expectations from Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal is expected to lead the Indian spin attack at the Asia Cup

Bangar was further asked about the Indian team's expectations from Yuzvendra Chahal. He replied:

"Yuzvendra Chahal is a bowler who is extremely clever and he knows how to play with the batter's mind. The way he senses which delivery to bowl against a batter in a particular situation, he knows that very well and that is why he has been contributing nicely as a wrist-spinner for the Indian team for a long time."

Bangar feels the leg-spinner will be a potent weapon for the Men in Blue in the middle overs. The cricketer-turned-analyst said:

"He has contributed to plenty of wins. The way he will bowl the wider lines, the way he will use the googly against the left-handers, I feel you can definitely expect that he will play the wicket-taking role in the middle overs in crunch matches."

Chahal is India's highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket. The wily spinner has scalped 79 wickets in 62 matches and has an acceptable economy rate of 8.09.