Ind vs Ban: India is a batting-obsessed nation but Bumrah, Ashwin changing trend, says coach Gautam Gambhir

sanjeev

khelja|18-09-2024

India head coach Gautam Gambhir lavished huge praise on bowlers such as R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja for shifting the nation's focus from its long-standing obsession with batting.
Ahead of the Bangladesh Test series, at home, Gambhir feels Bumrah, Ashwin, and Jadeja are Mohammed Shamin turning the country into a bowling-obsessed one with their performances. In a pre-series press conference, Gambhir said, "You've got to give credit to (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammed) Shami, (Mohammed) Siraj, (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja. They're turning this nation into a bowling-obsessed one. Bumrah is the best bowler in the world. It's not just his performance. It's his hunger as well. And the best part is that he wants to play as much Test cricket as he can. It is not even a luxury. He can make a difference at any stage of the game. So yes, hopefully, he can do the same in this series and going forward as well."  Gambhir opined, "They can pick up wickets on any day, whether it's Day 1 or Day 5 of a match. They offer both attacking and defensive options. We have an attack that can take 20 wickets consistently, and those two guys will create a massive impact, especially on Indian pitches. He added, "We may not have a pace-bowling all-rounder like Kapil Dev, but we have quality spin all-rounders in Ashwin and Jadeja. India's first-class structure is strong, and we may see one emerge soon. But for now, we shouldn't be too obsessed with it." The trio of Ashwin, Jadeja and Bumrah are part of India's squad for the first Test versus Bangladesh, which gets underway on September 19 (Thursday) in Chennai. Meanwhile, Shami - who was last seen on the cricket field during the 2023 ODI World Cup where he ended with most wickets (24) - is on the road to recovery following his ankle injury. India Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal. India will host Bangladesh in two Tests before hosting New Zealand in a three-match Test series. After that, India will travel to Australia for a five-match Test series, starting on November 22.
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