Aaron Finch, who won 2015 Men’s ODI World Cup with Australia, feels that India fast-bowler Mohammed Siraj, along with Trent Boult, Mitchell Starc, and Kagiso Rabada, will be the key bowlers in the upcoming 50-over mega event starting from October 5.
Siraj recently re-grabbed the number one position among bowlers in the ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings after bowling a sensational spell of 6-21 against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
"Well, the reason I retired – Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) - he’s the one that I always tried to avoid, but neither of us are playing now, so that's I think new ball bowlers who can swing, are a danger to everyone. I think Trent Boult, Mitchell Starc, and Rabada, these guys, especially Siraj, he’s as good as anyone in the world at the moment,” said Finch to Star Sports.
Faf du Plessis, who captained South Africa in 2019 Men’s ODI World Cup, agreed with Finch’s view on pacers being the key. But he also felt that left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav would become a lethal figure on Indian pitches during the World Cup.
Yeah, I'm similar to Finch. I think it depends on the wickets. You know, if the wicket has got something in it, someone like Siraj who just nibbles the ball a little bit both ways, and he's trying the off stump the whole time. Boult, those kinds of guys are going to be extremely successful.”
“Rabada, all those guys, but if there is a little bit of spin, you know, someone like Kuldeep has bowled really well in the last six months. When he gets his tail up and he gets one wicket, you know, the next batter's coming in, he's quite tricky to face his first few balls because he spins the ball both ways.”
With India bringing in Ravichandran Ashwin for the ODIs against Australia, Finch doesn’t see the ace off-spinner being picked in the side’s 15-member squad for the mega event. "I think that depends on how they think the surfaces are going to play throughout the country, and by that time, I think the skill in picking a squad for the World Cup is you have to think of the back end.”
“But you can’t think too much about it because you have to get there. I think he might struggle to make it to the final 15, but as somebody who has played so much cricket, I think the rest of the group that is with the Indian team for this current series against Australia, they could learn so much about big game play.”
“Because Ashwin is somebody that stands up in big games, whether it’s a test match or a T20 game, he has done it all throughout his career. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s there at the moment as a mentor around the group, but I don’t see him making that last 15, unfortunately."
