"If you have got him in the squad, might as well play him" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Bhuvneshwar Kumar playing in the T20I series vs South Africa

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar feels Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be given an extended run in the T20I series against South Africa.

Bhuvneshwar is among five seamers in the 18-member Indian squad for the five T20Is against the Proteas. Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh are the other pacers in the mix.

During an interaction on Sports 18, Manjrekar was asked which of the seamers is likely to get more games against the South Africans. He responded:

"There are lots of candidates. Bhuvneshwar was very good, he has showed that he is a pretty reliable death bowler, India needs somebody in the death. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is likely to play, if you have got him in the squad, might as well play him but there are other exciting options as well."

However, the cricketer-turned-analyst added that Team India will have a formidable pace attack whichever seamer is picked. Manjrekar elaborated:

"Avesh Khan is another good candidate, there is Harshal Patel, there is Arshdeep Singh. So there is going to be a real clamor for those spots. India will go for three genuine seam bowlers with Hardik Pandya as their fourth option. It's like pick anyone and they are still going to be quality."

Jasprit Bumrah is probably the only sure-shot pick as a seamer in India's T20 World Cup squad. All five seamers chosen for the South Africa T20Is will hope to give a decent account of themselves and stake their claim for a spot in the Indian team for the global event.

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"They will be wondering if it is a bit too early to rush him into that kind of a stage" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Umran Malik

Umran Malik has impressed everyone with his pace [P/C: iplt20.com]

Manjrekar was also asked what the selectors might be thinking about Umran. He replied:

"He is there in the squad, he might play a couple of matches but bilateral matches who cares, it is about the big marquee event, the ICC events. So that's where they (selectors) will be wondering if it is a bit too early to rush him into that kind of a stage but no harm in looking at him."

The 56-year-old pinpointed the unique attribute Umran brings to the table as a pace bowler. Manjrekar observed:

"The best thing about Umran Malik is that he gets you wickets in the middle, very few fast bowlers can do that. If India has a combination of spinners who are not wicket-taking in the middle, that's where Umran comes in."

Manjrekar concluded by stating that the Jammu speedster might fall back in the race if Team India are looking to field both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in the playing XI. He reasoned that the team will already have two wicket-takers in the middle overs in such a scenario.

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