"Harshal Patel has knocked on the door, Ravi Bishnoi is a candidate" - Wasim Jaffer on India's bowling combination for T20 World Cup

Wasim Jaffer believes pacer Harshal Patel has "knocked on the door" and Ravi Bishnoi is also a "candidate" for India's 2022 T20 World Cup team.

The former opener's comments came on the eve of the first of India's three home T20Is against Sri Lanka. He was asked which bowlers would want to stake their claim for India's yet-to-be-decided bowling attack by performing in the upcoming series.

Wasim Jaffer pointed to Patel's chart-topping five wickets from three T20Is against West Indies, saying his death bowling prowess left a brilliant impression. The 44-year-old is also eager to see Bishnoi bowl against Sri Lanka's spin-accustomed batters.

Wasim Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo:

"I think Harshal Patel has knocked on the door. He has helped finish matches by delivering the 18th and 20th overs. Ravi Bishnoi is a candidate as well. We'll have to see how he performs in this series because I feel this Sri Lankan team plays spin better than West Indies."

Wasim Jaffer also praised Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvenda Chahal and all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer's contributions against West Indies. He said the all-round effort would have bolstered skipper Rohit Sharma's confidence, adding:

"The bowlers performed brilliantly in the last series, especially in the last overs against the kind of batting West Indies have, whether it was Harshal Patel or Bhuvi. (Jasprit) Bumrah has returned in this series which will definitely give a boost to the bowling. The spin bowlers, whether it was Chahal or Bishnoi, also bowled well... Even Venkatesh Iyer, the way he provided a sixth bowling option for Rohit Sharma and got the big wickets of Kieron Pollard and Roston Chase. I feel the captain's confidence would have increased a lot."

Deepak Chahar, who took three wickets against West Indies, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur are also in the mix for the T20 World Cup squad. IPL 2022 will also play a key role in them getting a call-up to the national team.

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Ruturaj should get similar chances to Ishan Kishan: Wasim Jaffer

The Odisha head coach also opined on India's opening combination for the T20I series. He feels Ruturaj Gaikwad should open alongside Rohit Sharma in KL Rahul's absence and get similar chances as Ishan Kishan received for three straight games against West Indies. Wasim Jaffer explained:

"We can see Ruturaj Gaikwad opening the innings and I believe we should give him a long rope. We saw Ishan Kishan open in all three games in the last series. I feel Ruturaj should get similar chances. Rohit should open as well because that will be his spot in the T20 World Cup."

The first T20I between India and Sri Lanka will kickoff at 7:00 pm IST on Thursday in Lucknow.