World Cup 2019: Navdeep Saini looking forward to his role as India's standby bowler in the tournament

Speedster Navdeep Saini might not have earned a berth in the Indian squad for the upcoming ICC World Cup but he has been picked among the five standby players. For the 26-year-old bowler from Karnal, Haryana, who plays for Delhi, it’s a huge gain. Saini will be flying with the 15-man squad to the UK as one of the four net bowlers to assist the players in their preparation for the mega show.

Navdeep had an impressive outing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) in which he took 11 wickets in 13 games at an average of 36. It was hoped that he would make it to the World Cup squad, particularly in seamer-friendly conditions in England though it did not happen so at the end. But for Navdeep who was once fiercely backed by former India opener Gautam Gambhir to make a place in the Delhi side, the eventual gain has not been less.

Saini impressed with his pace in the IPL as he clocked past the 150 kmph mark regularly with the fastest delivery at almost 153 kmph which was a little behind South African Kagiso Rabada’s 154.23 kmph.

It’s a hug opportunity to travel with World Cup squad, says Navdeep

“This is a huge opportunity for me. Travelling with the Indian team and helping them prepare for such a big tournament is a really big deal for me,” Navdeep was quoted as saying by CricketNext.

He said the standby players have been instructed to travel to the UK on May 23 and conceded that there was no extra pressure on any of the standby bowlers including Ishant Sharma and Axar Patel. “The good thing is that right now I am travelling as a net bowler, I am not thinking that someone is going to get injured and I am going to be called up. I have to concentrate on what I have got to do at the moment,” he added.

Besides Navdeep, Deepak Chahar, Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed are travelling with the Indian side purely as net bowlers for giving practise to the Indian batters.

RCB bowling coach and former India spearhead Ashish Nehra has backed Navdeep strongly and said if luck permitted, the young pacer could end up playing the World Cup for India.

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