As Mumbai Indians begin their IPL title defence against the Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, September 19, they will be without the services of Sri Lankan death-overs specialist Lasith Malinga, who opted out of the tournament citing personal reasons.
As we lead up to the first game, former Australia fast bowler Brett Lee has opined that Indian paceman Jasprit Bumrah can step into the great’s shoes for the tournament. Lee said that Bumrah is good with the new ball as well as a slightly older ball, which can be crucial during the death overs.
“I have always been a Bumrah fan ever since he burst into the scenes some years ago. He has got a different bowling action, he pushes the ball in and can swing the ball both ways,” the Aussie pacer said.
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“He (Bumrah) is good with the new ball but I like him with the old ball and that's why he can fill the shoes of Malinga and can bowl at death overs. He can bowl at 140kmph and zoom the ball in at the batsman's feet. He is bowling yorkers consistently and there are very less (sic) bowlers like that, so he can fill those shoes”, he said.
As for this year’s tournament, Lee is of the opinion that the Chennai Super Kings side led by MS Dhoni are the frontrunners to go all the way given the team’s spin attack that may prove beneficial in the pitches of Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai.
“With (Mitchell) Santner, (Ravindra) Jadeja needs to step up and be the number one spinner and CSK have got great variety and none of the spinners are same, so they are at an advantage for the conditions in the UAE as the tournament progresses,” Lee added.
Brett Lee was part of the dominant Australian men’s cricket team that caused quite a lot of headaches during the 2000s, going on to beat India in the 2003 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Final. He was part of IPL teams like Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab while he also played in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) for the Sydney Sixers.
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