India wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has admitted that there is no replacement for Jasprit Bumrah, but he remains confident in the talent coming through India's fast-bowling ranks.
Samson's comments came after India's 24-run defeat to the West Indies in the fourth T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
With India's ace pacer rested for the series, the indian bowlers have faced a challenging task against the West Indies batting line-up.
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The opening batter described the pace spearhead as a once-in-a-generation bowler while backing Arshdeep Singh and Prince Yadav to improve with more opportunities.
“There is no replacement for Jasprit Bumrah. He is a once-in-a-generation kind of bowler, and we are very lucky to have him. But we have had some really good talent coming along also; Arshdeep (Singh) has been doing a great job, and also the way Prince Yadav has bowled in the last few games is very impressive,” Samson said after the defeat on Wednesday.
“I feel we have some really good talent. The more we play them, the more we back them, the better they will become,” he added.
Sanju Samson Provides Update On Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep suffered a blow to his left arm while batting towards the end of India's innings. The pacer was struck by a bouncer from West Indies fast bowler Shamar Joseph and appeared to be in pain.
Samson said the team hoped Arshdeep would recover in time for the fifth T20I, scheduled for Saturday.
“Arshdeep is putting ice on his shoulder,” Samson said. “Hopefully he recovers soon.”
Sanju Samson Praises West Indies Captain Shai Hope
West Indies captain Shai Hope has been in sublime form throughout the series. He has scored two centuries and a half-century in the four T20Is, having also registered two centuries in the preceding ODI series.
Samson credited Hope for the way he has handled India's bowling attack, pointing out that the West Indies skipper has played his shots without taking unnecessary risks.
“He (Hope) is playing really well; we need to respect what he has been doing. He has been playing some really good cricketing shots, not taking that much risk, so he is respecting the bowlers as well,” Samson noted.
“We need to give the credit to him for the way he is batting, and we are definitely switched on how to respond to him every game,” he added.
Samson Backs Abhishek Sharma And Ishan Kishan
Samson also backed India's top-order batters Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan following the defeat. Abhishek scored 29 off 24 balls in the fourth T20I, but Samson said one difficult outing should not overshadow the batters' overall performances.
Abhishek had scored 69 in the previous match, while Kishan has continued to contribute with the bat.
“Ishan (Kishan) and Abhishek Sharma are the world's best top two batters; I think you cannot ask anything more out of them, one game is okay,” the 31-year-old added.
“(Abhishek) just scored a really good 70 (69) in the last game and Ishan is consistently scoring a lot of runs, so one game is totally fine,” he elaborated.
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With the series now level at 2-2, Saturday's decider will be crucial, as the Shreyas Iyer-led side will be looking to win the series before the long New Zealand tour, which starts on October 22.
India are scheduled to play five T20Is, five ODIs and two Tests there.
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