CHENNAI: Renowned as much for his accurate predictions as for his line and length during a stellar career, Glenn McGrath, director of MRF Pace Foundation, reckons it would be a repeat of the 2024 T20 World Cup final with India and South Africa locking horns again.
The 56-year-old shared his thoughts on a host of issues, ranging from Australia’s premature exit to the key role that India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah would play in the knockouts of the ongoing World T20.
On Australia’s early exit: I said I was concerned with Australia before the tournament began. I thought they might make the Super 8, but I didn’t feel they would progress much further. The fact that they didn’t even make the Final 8 is disappointing. I think you look at no Cummins, no Hazlewood, no Starc. Those are big gaps to fill. Steve Smith, who had been in form in Big Bash, was there but he wasn’t selected. Matt Renshaw scored 66 in the game before but he too was not selected. Not sure what the Australians were thinking. I thought the preparation could have been better
On the importance of Bumrah in knockouts: Jasprit is a big-game player. Sometimes when the big games happen, these players lift their performance. They really love those big moments, big games. Arshdeep has been probably the pick of India’s bowlers at the moment. Arshdeep has been opening and doing well. So it’ll be interesting to see how they use him and how effective he is. But I’ve got total faith in Bumrah when it comes to big matches. I’m always a big fan of Jasprit. The way he goes about it, just knows the game so well. To me, the two best T20 bowlers in the world, Jasprit Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood. Bumrah does put quite a bit of stress on his body, so he needs to stay strong and India want him to be in the team the whole time.
On his predictions for the remaining matches: I thought the two teams that I would pick in the finals were going to be South Africa and India. South Africa have been the pick of the team of the tournament so far. South Africa is going to be tough to beat, but India, on their day can do something pretty special. England, they’re a dangerous team. If they really click on the day, they can do anything. But I think they’ve been all over the place. New Zealand are a tough team when they play well but they’ve got something about them when they play South Africa. South Africa wins convincingly.