One bowler who will serve Indian cricket for a very long time

Discarded India batter Hanuma Vihari heaped massive praise on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer Prince Yadav amid the T20I series against New Zealand. The Men in Blue have pocketed the five-match series 3-0 with two games remaining.

Hanuma Vihari made a huge statement, saying he believed Prince Yadav could go on to have a long career for India. He praised the young pacer for his skills and for creating impact, particularly while bowling difficult overs in the shorter format.

“Prince Yadav is bowling the important overs. I think he is one bowler who will serve Indian cricket for a long time, especially in the white-ball format. I would not compare him to Bumrah, but he is there. He is getting there. He is creating impact. He has got a good yorker and can be a death-overs specialist,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.

Prince Yadav has been promising in his short T20I career so far. In 11 matches, he has picked up as many wickets at an average of 28.72 and an economy rate of 8.69, with best figures of 3/22.

Hanuma Vihari on star batter’s position and India’s combination

Hanuma Vihari also opined that promoting star batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi to open the innings was the right decision. He batted at number three in the second T20I and struggled, but smashed a 19-ball 45 while opening in the third game.

“I think Vaibhav Suryavanshi opening was a really good move. If Ishan is not playing and you play Suryavanshi, his best spot is to open. He struggled in the middle in the last game,” he said.

However, he pondered what the combination should be if Ishan Kishan recovers from injury and returns for the fourth game. In that scenario, Hanuma Vihari opined that Vaibhav Suryavanshi would have to miss out, as Sanju Samson, who is in fine form, must not be dropped.

“What will happen in the next game? Will they drop Samson? Will they drop Vaibhav? I still feel Vaibhav has time. Let Samson play. He is showing consistency now. In the last couple of series, he is scoring fifties in every alternate game. So I think that should be the thought process.”

Samson has three fifties in his last ten T20I innings. He scored a 33-ball 67 in the opening T20I against New Zealand in Christchurch.

Edited by Rishab Vm