ICC World Cup 2019: Michael Clarke names the player who can win India the title

Team India, captained by Virat Kohli, has done exceptionally in the ongoing 2019 World Cup, having won four out of their five matches. Their other match versus New Zealand in Nottingham was abandoned. Placed third in the points table, India will now play Windies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and hosts England, and are already one of the strongest contenders to qualify for the semi-finals.

One of the major reasons behind their success is Jasprit Bumrah, the right-arm fast bowler, who has already picked up seven wickets at an average and economy of 26.71 and 4.92 respectively. Barring the match versus Pakistan in Manchester, the 25-year-old speedster has returned with a minimum of two wickets in the rest of the three games. The pacer is peaking for the team at the right time.

In the game against Afghanistan at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, he was the Man of the Match, for his spell of 10-1-39-2. With all-rounder Mohammad Nabi looking ominous, he gave away only five runs in the penultimate over that got the game in favour of the Men in Blue.

It isn’t surprising that Michael Clarke, the former Australian captain, picked him as one who can take India to glory. Clarke termed him as someone, who can make breakthroughs at any stage of a game and is Kohli’s go-to-man. Also, he mentioned that Bumrah can wreak havoc when the ball in reverse-swinging.

Bumrah bowls those yorkers as good as anyone else: Clarke

“I think there is nothing that he (Bumrah) doesn’t have. He is fit and healthy. I hope he stays that way as he would play a big part in India’s success in this World Cup,” Clarke, the 2015 World Cup-winning captain, was quoted as saying in Hindustan Times.

“With the brand new ball, he can swing and seam it. When the ball is doing nothing in the middle overs, he has the extra pace to trouble batsmen. He can bowl close to 150 clicks and then at the death, he bowls those yorkers as good as anyone else. And if there is reverse swing, he is a genius.”

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“As a captain, probably, you need someone like him to throw the ball to when you need wickets. He can open the bowling, bowl that 35th over when nothing is happening or bowl those last four overs at the death, which can win India a World Cup final,” Clarke added.