India is one quality pacer short, says Gautam Gambhir

Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir feels the Indian World Cup squad is “one quality fast bowler” short. Two-time winners India begin their campaign with a big-ticket match against South Africa on June 5 in Southampton.

“I feel Indian team lacks one more quality fast bowler. (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammed) Shami and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) need more support. You may argue that India has two fast bowling all-rounders in Hardik (Pandya) and Vijay Shankar but I am not convinced. In the end it boils down to getting the team combination right and sticking to it,” Gambhir said.

The former India World Cup winner said so while giving the keynote address at the CEAT Cricket Rating (CCR) International awards 2019 here.

The left-hand batsman said on the ICC showpiece, “This will be a well-contested tournament as all teams play each other. This format will give us the real world champion and I think ICC should stick to this format for all future World Cups.”