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“[It’s] unfortunate,” Shastri said of Bumrah’s injury at the launch of Coaching Beyond, his new initiative with Bharat Arun and R Sridhar, in Chennai. “There’s so much cricket being played, and people get injured. He is injured, but it’s an opportunity for somebody else. There is nothing you can do with injury.
“I think we have got enough strength and we have a good team. I have always believed if you make it to the semi-finals, it could be anyone’s tournament. The endeavour would be to start well, get to the semis, and then you have got enough strength to probably win the [World] Cup, for all you know. Bumrah not being there, Jadeja not being there – it hampers the side – but it’s an opportunity to unearth a new champion.”
Former India bowling coach Arun, who is now with Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL as their bowling coach, was also upbeat about India’s chances at the T20 World Cup in Australia.
“The expectation is that India has to keep winning,” Arun said. “If they lose, people tend to criticise them. They are showing a lot of promise, especially in World Cup events, and Australian conditions will suit them.”
“Precisely, his experience [in Australian conditions is his strength],” Shastri said of Shami. “India have been there a lot in the last six years and he has been an integral part of all those tours. So that experience [of having done well in Australia] counts.”
Shastri was also enthused about the launch of the women’s IPL next year and said that India Women are just one step away from winning a world tournament and creating an impact similar to what the India men’s side did after winning the 1983 World Cup.
“Fabulous [on the launch of the women’s IPL],” he said. “They are only that [little] far away from winning something big. You see what happened with the men’s cricket team when they won the World Cup in ’83. So, if the women win a World Cup, the interest that will be generated will be unbelievable. The more and more I see of the Indian women play, they are far more self-confident with the exposure they’ve got, and they have far more self-belief that they can actually go the distance.”
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
Source: ESPN Crickinfo