Jasprit Bumrah will be the X-factor for India in T20 World Cup: Gautam Gambhir and Irfan Pathan

New Delhi, October 19: Team India begin as one of the favourites in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 which is being held in UAE and Oman. The Virat Kohli-led side's emphatic victory in the warm-up match against England will augur them well in the multi-nation tournament.

Key India players like KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant starred in the comprehensive six-wicket victory over a star-studded England squad in their first practice match.

Bumrah's bowling performance was one of the highlights for India from the warm-up game as the right-arm speedster finished his quota of 4 overs for 26 runs and even picked up a wicket.

Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir also believes that the Gujarat pacer is going to be the X-factor for the side in the showpiece event.

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Speaking exclusively on STAR SPORTS show Follow the Blues, Gambhir said, "(I) Reckon that KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Varun Chakravarthy and probably an X factor, which will be Jasprit Bumrah."

While sharing his thoughts about Bumrah, who was in good touch in the IPL 2021 for his franchise Mumbai Indians, former India pacer Irfan Pathan said on the show, "When we talk about Varun Chakravarthy, it's clear that he will do really well because he has mystery and also is in top form. But according to me in terms of bowling, there is only one X factor and that is Bumrah. There can't be a bigger X factor than Bumrah in any other team."

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While speaking about Virat Kohli's last tournament as a captain Gambhir said, "All he would be looking for is to win the T20 competition and I'm sure that the entire team will be looking to do that as well because it's been a long 14 years of wait. I'm sure that it's not only about Virat Kohli that he's going to be captaining India for the last time in the T20 format, it's about just winning the tournament and him winning as captain will be icing on the cake."

Former India cricketer MS Dhoni has been roped in as the mentor of the side for the showpiece event. The legendary captain will be sharing his inputs with captain Kohli and helping the youngster with his valuable advice.

While talking about Dhoni's inclusion as the mentor for the T20 World Cup Gambhir said, "To share his experience with some of the young guys who are playing their first World Cup, which is going to be very important because playing in the World Cup is a completely different piece. So, you would need that experienced someone who's been there done that. So, MS could definitely try and share all his experiences with some of the young cricketers."