Updated July 7th, 2019 at 18:30 IST

World Cup 2019 | Jasprit Bumrah is going to be key man for India in semifinal against New Zealand: Krish Srikanth

Former skipper Krish Srikkanth believes the leader of the Indian bowling attack, Jasprit Bumrah, will be their key player in the World Cup semifinal against New Zealand in Manchester on Tuesday.

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Former skipper Krish Srikkanth believes the leader of the Indian bowling attack, Jasprit Bumrah, will be their key player in the World Cup semifinal against New Zealand in Manchester on Tuesday.

"Looking ahead to the semi-final, Bumrah is going to be a key man for Virat Kohli. India are lucky to have someone with the ability to take wickets with the new ball, come back later and break a partnership if needed, and then to restrict at the death," said  Srikanth

The 59-year-old said Bumrah is someone who not only contributes with wickets but also can put the brakes on opposition's scoring rate.

"From a bowling perspective, it was all about Jasprit Bumrah again. He really is the leader of the Indian attack. He is the main weapon, he takes wickets, he can put on the brakes when the opposition are getting on top, he can do everything. We saw it against England when they were cutting loose, and against Sri Lanka again, when they were trying to attack," said Srikanth.

RAED | World Cup 2019 | Jasprit Bumrah Becomes Second-fastest Indian To Take 100 ODI Wickets

He was also all praise for opener Rohit Sharma, who became the first batsman to score five hundred in a single World Cup, eclipsing former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara's record. He also lauded Shamra's temperament. 

"India's openers are flying right now and in Rohit Sharma they have someone who has it all. Three centuries in a row, five in total in this ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019, he is in incredible form. The opposition knows that you either get him out before he gets to 10, or the next pit stop is probably 100. In the last three years of his career, he has been outstandingly consistent in one-day cricket. I think the most important thing about him is his temperament. He is so cool and calm and just never gets flustered. So many players start to panic if they don't get runs during the Powerplay, but Rohit doesn't. Even when he starts slowly, he is dangerous. He has this ability to just shift through the gears, from second, to fourth, to sixth, to eighth. By the time he gets to 120, he is in eighth gear. He has a fantastic striking ability and we saw that against Sri Lanka. But it is also important to remember that he does more than just strike the ball cleanly. Rohit can score this many centuries because he has rock solid defense. You cannot score that many hundreds without a great defence, and Rohit has it," said Srikanth.

 It's going to be India versus New Zealand in the first semifinal of the ICC World Cup on Tuesday, with hosts England taking on five-time defending champions Australia in the other on Thursday.

READ | World Cup 2019 | The Semi-finals Stage Is Set: It's India Against New Zealand In First Semifinal, Hosts England Face Defending Champs Australia In Other

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Published July 7th, 2019 at 18:08 IST