Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav have disappointed, says Mohammad Azharuddin

Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin welcomed the introduction of new players in the Indian team for the T20 International series against Australia and hoped the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya will grab their chances.

Azhar lashed out at senior pacers Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav for their poor performances in Australia. Azhar said the duo have not delivered according to expectations and Team India will be better served by younger players, who are hungry to make a mark with their consistency.

"India need to get new players, those who can perform. It has been disappointing with players like Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, who have not delivered. The new players have come and things are different now," Azharuddin said.

The two bowlers have been overlooked for the T20I series after a lacklustre outing in the one-day international series, which the team lost 1-4. Skipper Dhoni was not reluctant to point the fingers on his misfiring pacers. He had complained about the lack of variety in the bowling department.

Umesh and Ishant were expensive in the ODI series and were taken to the cleaners by the Australian batsmen. The pace attack was never able to get the early breakthrough and let the Australian openers cash in on the fielding restriction in big chases. The 300-plus totals posted by India were gunned down with ease.

After troubling the likes of Ricky Ponting in his debut series Down Under, Ishant has come a long way since then having spent six years in international cricket. Despite getting the long rope from the selectors, Ishant was never able to become the leader of the pack and is now struggling for a place in the squad, at least in limited-overs.

On the other hand, Umesh has struggled with his consistency all through his career. The Vidarbha pacer was never Dhoni's first choice. Here again, on pitches which offered bounce, Umesh was not able to capitalise and ended conceding lot of runs in the five-match series.

The selectors have finally decided to look ahead of Umesh, Ishant and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. They seem to have heard Dhoni's concern and are starting to give the youngsters an opportunity at the highest level.

Dhoni, now looks a different skipper with youngster repaying the faith he showed in them. He looks relieved when his bowlers hitting the right length in the death overs. The young pacers have now shown that the problem was not with the captain but with the team's underperforming quicks.