“Jasprit Bumrah is a big game player” - Glenn McGrath predicts Indian ace pacer to shine in knockouts of T20 WC 2026

Former Australian pacer Glenn McGrath has stated that the Indian team, led by Suryakumar Yadav, should enjoy the pressure of being in the knockouts of an ICC event as the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign comes to the business end.

While India started the campaign as the strong favourites to defend the title, they had their hiccups in the group stage against the USA. Later, they suffered a 76-run defeat to South Africa in the Super8 round to stare down the barrel. 

However, they made a strong comeback against Zimbabwe, bagging a 72-run win to stay in contention. Later, they defeated the West Indies by five wickets in the 196-run chase to qualify for the semi-finals.

Speaking exclusively at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai, McGrath, who was part of the Australian team that clinched a lot of ICC titles, has stated that the Australian team likes taking pressure and challenges.

“You enjoy it. You just bring it back to its simplest form. The team I played in, I just felt our danger period was getting to the final. Once we’re in the final, I thought the game was all over. I think the team they like pressure. They like challenges. They’re up for it,” McGrath said.

“In the final, the big game, the best teams in the world, the best players, that’s where they perform. For me, the reason you went to a World Cup was to play in the final and win the final. All the matches leading up to it were just things you have to do to get there. It was one of those things you just focused on, you switched on and just enjoyed the pressure and lifted for that pressure,” he added.

“The Australian team played better when the pressure was on. That’s why I always made these stupid predictions, because I thought it put more pressure on our players, and they performed better. The best players always perform in pressure situations,” McGrath stated.

“I think Jasprit is a big game player. Sometimes in the big games, these players lift from their normal game. Not saying the focus is not there, but they really love those big moments, big games. I’ve got total faith in Bumrah when it comes to big matches,” McGrath said.

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