New Delhi, Jan 2: India must focus on increasing the bench strength of their pace attack in 2024 as the Centurion Test exposed chinks in that department, reckons former pacer Irfan Pathan.
Mohammed Shami’s absence was felt badly in the heavy loss to South Africa in the opening Test of the two-match series in the Rainbow Nation last week.
Jasprit Bumrah, who did not get the support from the likes of Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna in the first Test, is also injury prone.
Speaking to Star Sports on areas India need to improve in the new year, Pathan said: “India need to prepare a good fast bowling unit in 2024. We saw what happened in South Africa, the back ups were not ready. Shami was missed.
“If god forbid, something happens to Bumrah as we have seen in the past, injury can happen to him. If we don’t prepare a big pool, we won’t get quality pacers like them (Bumrah, Shami).
You need to have 7-8 pacers ready for the highest level,” he said. (PTI)
