Batting great Sunil Gavaskar believes the battle between Harry Brook and Jasprit Bumrah could decide the fate of India’s T20 World Cup semifinal against England, and has urged the hosts to unleash their pace spearhead early in the powerplay.
Defending champions India will face England at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, in what will be a repeat of the semifinals from the 2022 and 2024 editions.
Gavaskar stressed that Bumrah should bowl at least two overs with the new ball to make early inroads. “If he can remove Jos Buttler, Phil Salt and Harry Brook upfront, he will have pretty much broken the back of England’s batting,” he said on the sidelines of the DP World Celebrity Golf Event in support of the CHAMPS Foundation.
So far in the tournament, Bumrah has largely bowled a single over during the powerplay, with the team preserving two of his overs for the death. However, in the Super Eight defeat to South Africa, he delivered two overs upfront, a move Gavaskar believes should become the norm.
He argued that introducing Bumrah in the fifth over allows England’s openers valuable time to settle. “Wouldn’t it be better for India if Bumrah bowls to them first and gets them out before they find their rhythm?” he wondered.
Gavaskar expects a closely fought contest, calling it a potential “humdinger”, though he feels India hold a slight advantage owing to their flexible batting order and Bumrah’s impact.
England famously thrashed India by 10 wickets in the 2022 semifinal at Adelaide, before Rohit Sharma’s men returned the favor in 2024 at Providence in the West Indies.
According to Gavaskar, both sides are evenly matched with depth in batting, variety in bowling and proven finishers. He also pointed out that several England players have IPL experience, making them well-versed in Indian conditions and high-pressure knockout games.
Explaining what makes Bumrah so difficult to face, Gavaskar drew a parallel with tennis great Andre Agassi’s autobiography Open, in which Agassi described decoding Boris Becker’s serve by spotting subtle cues. Bumrah, he said, offers no such clues.
“Bumrah doesn’t give you anything away. His action and release are hard to read. You might expect the ball to come in, but he can move it away just as effectively. That’s what makes him devastating in all three formats,” he observed.
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Gavaskar also highlighted India’s batting flexibility, citing Tilak Varma as a prime example. Tilak began the tournament at No.3 but later shifted to No.5 and No.6 after Sanju Samson was drafted into the XI.
The left-hander made crucial contributions in the Super Eight stage against Zimbabwe and the West Indies, easing pressure on Samson in key moments. Gavaskar praised Tilak’s game awareness, calling him a smart cricketer capable of adapting to different match situations.
While England skipper Jos Buttler has endured a lean run in the tournament, Gavaskar warned against complacency.
“He can be as dangerous as Abhishek Sharma. Getting Buttler early is ideal because we’ve seen in the IPL and ICC events how destructive he can be,” he said, adding that even great players go through rough patches, much like Samson and Suryakumar Yadav have in recent times.
For India, Gavaskar concluded, early strikes from Bumrah and disciplined execution could make all the difference in what promises to be a high-octane semifinal clash.
(By PTI Inputs)
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