Former India pacer, Mohammad Kaif gave an interview to select media persons ahead of the first Test between India and Bangladesh.
Kaif is of the opinion that India has a pretty inexperienced bowling lineup due to the unavailability of premier pacers Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
Which is why he says that India will find it tough to pick up all 20 wickets in both of the Test matches.
Kaif is also going to grace the commentary box for this Test series.
The former pacer has played 13 Tests and 125 ODIs for India during his cricketing career.
While talking with the media persons, Kaif answered some important questions that every Indian fan wants answers to.
Excerpts from Kaif’s interview before the first Test
To the first question, Kaif says,
Winning not just this series in fact the home series against Australia is equally important. They’ll have to win both the series as their fate (for WTC final) hangs in the balance. Team India will be playing a red-ball game after a gap of five-six months (so it will be a challenge).
Adds Kaif,
Coming to your question. Yes, this current Indian bowling lineup isn’t looking as lethal as it should have been, courtesy of a series of injuries to the key players. The pace department against Bangladesh looks pretty inexperienced. We are not going to get rank turners in Bangladesh, the pitch will have a lot on offer in the first couple of days.
Speaking on the second question, Kaif says,
(R) Ashwin and Axar (Patel) will come into play from the third or fourth day in Bangladesh, so the role of fast bowlers will be crucial for the teams in this series. Shami and Bumrah are our premier pacers and both are injured. They’ve played crucial roles in India’s Test wins more often than not. Even Ishant Sharma hasn’t been picked up by the selectors. So, India’s pace bowling looks inexperienced.
Kaif also stressed the fact that players playing in the domestic sphere for India should be acknowledged when they perform consistently.
Kaif on Jaydev Unadkat
I don’t think so Unadkat will get a chance in playing eleven because you have Shardul Thakur. He will bat at number 7 or 8. The way I see it, India will go with three pacers in Siraj, Umesh and Shardul. So Unadkat might not get a place in the playing eleven unless there is an injury. But it is good to see that the selectors have recognised his performances in the domestic circuit and rewarded him with an India recall.
And finally, Kaif remarked that India will have no problems as far as the opening combination is concerned.
With Rohit Sharma out of the series with injury, skipper KL Rahul and Shubman Gill are the only opening options for India in this series.
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