A couple of months ago, during the IPL 2023, Rohit Sharma admitted that he is now got used to playing without Jasprit Bumrah. Rohit-led Mumbai Indians played their entire season with the pace sensation Jasprit Bumrah and they even made it to the playoffs of IPL 2023 with a below-par pace attack. In late 2022, Rohit issued a stern warning to the Indian management over players sustaining injuries even after clearing fitness tests at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
Fast forward to the present, as the Indian cricket team is all set to enter the new cycle of the World Test Championship, they are facing the same issues. Team India, which was already without the services of pacer Jasprit Bumrah, has decided to rest veteran pacer Mohammed Shami for its first assignment in the new season of the WTC.
Rohit Sharma Made A Big Statement Ahead Of 1st Test vs WI
Speaking to the reporters, ahead of the first Test match against West Indies, Rohit Sharma was asked about leading the team with an inexperienced bowling attack in the Caribbean. Responding to the same, Rohit said:
“We’ve seen that the pacers have taken a lot of wickets here. But it is what it is. Players get injured and we have to rotate them unfortunately. Humare paas fast bowlers ki line nahi lagi hui hai (We don’t have an abundance of pacers). In India, there are a lot of bowlers who are injured. The ones we have, we need to manage them. Which is why our experienced bowlers couldn’t come on this tour,”
Pacer Mohammed Siraj will lead the pace attack for team India in the Caribbean this season. Having played 19 Tests, Siraj is the most experienced pacer in the current Indian squad for the West Indies series. Siraj is joined by Shardul Thakur (9), Jaydev Unadkat (2), Navdeep Saini (2), and Mukesh Kumar, who received his maiden Test call-up after a remarkable domestic season. Backing his bowlers to do well in the upcoming series, Rohit Sharma said:
“Jaydev (Unadkat) isn’t new, he made his debut 10-12 years back. Mukesh Kumar has performed consistently in domestic cricket. He has done well for his state as well as in zonal games and for India A. We’ll see the combination we need to pick,”
Rohit Sharma concluded by hinting that the visitors can Test their bench strength in their upcoming white-ball assignments. Team India is also looking forward to preparing for the World Cup with the upcoming series against the West Indies in the Caribbean. After the Two Test match series, the Indian cricket team is also scheduled to play 3 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and five T20Is against the Windies. Rohit Sharma said:
“For Indian cricket, this will always be a challenge since we play a lot of cricket. We have to manage players, rotate them, give them enough break so that they are fresh. We also need to remember the big tournament that’s coming up. We need to keep everyone fresh for the World Cup. That’s also something we have to remember because right now we don’t have the luxury to focus on one particular series. It’s also beneficial since the new players are also getting an opportunity. We also need to create bench strength. It gives us an idea how those in the background who’ve been working hard handle the pressure at the international stage,”
