Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Ahead of his team's ICC T20 World Cup semi-final clash against India, former England cricketer Paul Collingwood heaped praise on Men in Blue leader Jasprit Bumrah, calling him the "best cricketer in the world".
It will be a rematch of the semi-final of the 2022 edition of the tournament as a red-hot India team will take on England in the second semi-final of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup in Guyana on Thursday. The last time these two nations met in a Men's T20 World Cup semi-final was just 19 months ago in Adelaide, when a remarkable opening partnership between Jos Buttler and Alex Hales saw England claim a 10-wicket win that forced a complete rethinking in India. T20 strategy and moving away from more established superstars towards younger blood, from conservatism to aggression.
This time around, India have more batting power led by experienced captains Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, more attacking options in the middle order and more variation in their attack, but the defending champions will take some beating, especially with captain Jos Buttler and his new opening partner Phil Salt, both in excellent form.
Speaking exclusively to the Star Sports newsroom, former England captain Collingwood spoke about the impact Bumrah has on the Indian cricket team. He said: "I think if you had a sheet of paper and you had to pick a cricket team, in any form of the game, Jasprit Bumrah would be the first name that would appear on that list at the top. It's as simple as that. He's the best cricketer in the world right now. The level of skill, pace and deception he has in T20 cricket is incredible.”
However, Collingwood said England are playing an aggressive brand of cricket and if they manage to attack Jasprit, it will have a big effect on the game. He also advised England not to take a conservative approach and simply focus on dismissing Bumrah safely.
"You saw Travis Head attack Bumrah a couple of times, in the Australia match. And the impact it has if the opponent knocks down your spearhead could discourage the Indian cricket team. So that's an approach that England can take, but it is “It is risky because we know how skilful and how many wickets Bumrah can take,” he concluded.
In six matches, Bumrah has taken 11 wickets so far in the tournament at an average of 8.54 and an economy rate just above 4. His best bowling figures are 3/7.
England are just two matches away from making history and becoming the first men's team to retain a T20 World Cup, according to the ICC.
On the other hand, India have not won this tournament since its inception in 2007, and are seeking their first World Cup victory in any format since the 2011 50-over tournament. India's last ICC trophy was in 2013, when they captured the ICC Champions Trophy in England.
Team India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
England team: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
It will be a rematch of the semi-final of the 2022 edition of the tournament as a red-hot India team will take on England in the second semi-final of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup in Guyana on Thursday. The last time these two nations met in a Men's T20 World Cup semi-final was just 19 months ago in Adelaide, when a remarkable opening partnership between Jos Buttler and Alex Hales saw England claim a 10-wicket win that forced a complete rethinking in India. T20 strategy and moving away from more established superstars towards younger blood, from conservatism to aggression.
This time around, India have more batting power led by experienced captains Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, more attacking options in the middle order and more variation in their attack, but the defending champions will take some beating, especially with captain Jos Buttler and his new opening partner Phil Salt, both in excellent form.
Speaking exclusively to the Star Sports newsroom, former England captain Collingwood spoke about the impact Bumrah has on the Indian cricket team. He said: "I think if you had a sheet of paper and you had to pick a cricket team, in any form of the game, Jasprit Bumrah would be the first name that would appear on that list at the top. It's as simple as that. He's the best cricketer in the world right now. The level of skill, pace and deception he has in T20 cricket is incredible.”
However, Collingwood said England are playing an aggressive brand of cricket and if they manage to attack Jasprit, it will have a big effect on the game. He also advised England not to take a conservative approach and simply focus on dismissing Bumrah safely.
"You saw Travis Head attack Bumrah a couple of times, in the Australia match. And the impact it has if the opponent knocks down your spearhead could discourage the Indian cricket team. So that's an approach that England can take, but it is “It is risky because we know how skilful and how many wickets Bumrah can take,” he concluded.
In six matches, Bumrah has taken 11 wickets so far in the tournament at an average of 8.54 and an economy rate just above 4. His best bowling figures are 3/7.
England are just two matches away from making history and becoming the first men's team to retain a T20 World Cup, according to the ICC.
On the other hand, India have not won this tournament since its inception in 2007, and are seeking their first World Cup victory in any format since the 2011 50-over tournament. India's last ICC trophy was in 2013, when they captured the ICC Champions Trophy in England.
Team India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
England team: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
