A lot on Shami's shoulders for CT, says Mhambrey

For this fancied Indian team, the primary concern ahead of the Champions Trophy campaign is filling up the huge hole left by the talismanic speedster, Jasprit Bumrah, who is unavailable for the ICC event after failing to recover from his back injury.

- Sanjeev K Samyal

Sanjeev K Samyal [e-mail] MUMBAI: Obviously, the Rohit Sharma-led squad's chances will heavily depend on their ability to fill the massive void left by the pace ace's absence.

All eyes, therefore, will be on the pace attack of Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya to lift their game.

"The venue (Dubai) is different, we have a balanced attack," Paras Mhambrey, the former India bowling coach, told HT on the sidelines of MI Junior inter-school cricket tournament finals.

"Obviously, you are going to miss Bumrah. That's a no-brainer as he is one of the best bowlers in the world. You have seen his performance in the last one and a half years. It will be unfair (to expect) anybody else to kind of replace him. These things happen, you have to go with the combination you have.