This bowler won’t play in first Test against AUS: Nehra

Former India cricketer Ashish Nehra has predicted India’s bowling line-up for the first Test against Australia and he feels that pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar won’t feature in India’s playing XI for the first Test.

Bhuvi can struggle a bit with the old kookaburra: Nehra

The former pace bowler said that he doesn’t see Bhuvneshwar Kumar starting in the first Test at least. He explained that Bhuvi can struggle a bit with the old kookaburra as it will neither swing nor seam unlike Dukes or SG Test.

Nehra feels that for the first Test, India will go ahead with Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and one between Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav.

Nehra evaluates Indian pace bowlers

The left-arm pacer provided a detailed analysis of India’s pace attack. He said that Umesh is not a finished product after eight years but is someone who has incredible skill sets. He noted that Umesh is a strong lad and the fittest among all Indian pacers.

The former India pacer revealed that he liked Mohammad Shami’s bowling in England. He observed that Shami bowled with fire in the second innings of the fifth Test at the Oval and he made it clear that this takes a lot of doing. He hopes that Shami can keep it up in Australia also if he starts from the first Test.

Also read: India star to miss first unofficial Test against NZ

According to Nehra, if we look at Ishant Sharma, the 87 Tests that he has played is a testimony to his fitness. He noted that often people will look at the wickets column but Nehra pointed out that bowling 35-40 overs for more than a decade require special skills.

India’s best chance to win in Australia: Nehra

Nehra believes that as the Australian team is going through a massive restructuring, this is India’s best chance without a doubt. He feels that we have the bowling attack to beat them. But he also noted that India needs to be mindful that conditions will be much tougher Down Under where the wickets will be flat and weather would be on the warmer side.