World Cup 2019: Sachin Tendulkar feels Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be picked over Mohammed Shami if fit

India has outclassed every single opponent that has come in its way till now. The Men in Blue have performed as a unit, with the bowling and batting units complementing each other well with balanced performances. Set aside the injuries, there have been very few concerns for the team. This unstoppable Indian team takes on an unpredictable West Indies on June 27 at the Old Trafford, with an aim to inch a step closer to the semi-finals.

The major concern had been injuries to Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshvar Kumar. With the former ruled out and the latter’s availability for the next match is still uncertain. However, Mohammad Shami in the previous nail-biting match stood up to the billings, the issue seems to be sorted. Bhuvneshvar Kumar was on Wednesday seen practising in the indoor nets, which has given an indication that he might start in against Windies.

This gives the management a healthy headache ahead of the encounter. However, legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar wants Bhuvneshvar to take the field. “I feel sorry for Shami but I would pick Bhuvneshvar Kumar because he was the first choice seamer coming into the tournament. So, if he is fit, I would go with him,” Tendulkar was quoted by saying to the International Business Times. Bhuvneshvar was Virat Kohli’s premium choice in the playing XI, and Tendulkar felt that it is better to stick to the core team.

Tendulkar feels Bhuvi can deceive big guns

“I would pick Bhuvneshwar, especially against West Indies because Chris Gayle, I feel you need someone to take the ball away from him and Bhuvneshwar is better at that,” Tendulkar added. Chris Gayle has always struggled against the deliveries that move away from the wickets. He was dismissed in a similar manner against Bangladesh for Mohammad Saifuddin delivery. Apart from this, bowlers have often used this kind of delivery in the initial phases of his innings, and the southpaw has found it difficult to neutralize them.

If India manages to make early inroads against the Windies, they can put them on the backfoot. Both Bhuvneshwar and Shami are a master of this job. Therefore, it would be interesting to see whether India decides to stick with the hat-trick man Shami or go back to Bhuvi.