Hardik Pandya On Cusp Of Surpassing Jasprit Bumrah As India Aim To Level T20I Series Vs West Indies
New Delhi: India T20I skipper Hardik Pandya is all set to surpass Jasprit Bumrah when he leads the side in the second T20I against West Indies at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Sunday. India are trailing 0-1 after having lost the first game narrowly by four runs.
One of the premier all-rounders for India, Pandya is currently on 70 T20I wickets, on level terms with Bumrah. If he can take one or more wickets on Sunday, the 29-year-old will the move to the fourth spot behind Ravichandran Ashwin (72), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (90) and Yuzvendra Chahal (93) in the most T20I wickets by Indians.
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan tops the overall list with 140 wickets. Meanwhile, Bumrah, who has been out of action since last year, will be able to add more to his tally when he takes the field against Ireland in the upcoming three-match T20I series later this month.
Bumrah will lead India against Ireland. Meanwhile, India will aim to level the series against West Indies as their most sought after IPL stars will have a reputation to defend in the second match of the five-game series.
The T20I series is of little consequence in an ODI World Cup year but skipper Pandya along with his deputy Suryakumar Yadav would expect to put a far improved batting show — both individually as well as collectively.
The duo along with Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson are all looking at the ODI World Cup but no one would mind a few good knocks which will give them some confidence ahead of the Asia Cup.
This T20 series against the West Indies gives India the best chance to check out their shortest format options as it would become important next year with the World Cup being held in the Americas (West Indies and United States).
For India, Suryakumar would want to get a big one in his pet format and regain a bit of confidence that has eroded because of a lean patch in the ODIs. Among bowlers, Chahal has fallen off a bit in ODI pecking order and he will have a point to prove if he gets an opportunity in all five games.
Arshdeep Singh is a work-in-progress as far as death overs bowling is concerned while Mukesh Kumar is reaping rewards for his good show throughout the tour.