In a press conference in West Indies, before the start of the first test against the West Indies in Dominica, captain of the team India Rohit Sharma expressed his concern over the unavailability of fast bowlers. Rohit Sharma admitted that the team is struggling to find a combination of pacers for the upcoming test series due to injuries of some players and the unavailability of others because of the busy cricket season.
Mohammad Siraj to lead the bowling attack
The Indian pace attack will be led by Mohammed Siraj, along with Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Jaydev Unadkat, and Mukesh Kumar. While Jasprit Bumrah remains unfit, Mohammed Shami is rested, and Umesh Yadav has been dropped, Siraj and Shardul will be key pacers to watch out for.
Though Mukesh Kumar has done well in domestic cricket, playing international cricket is different, and that too in Caribbean conditions. Unadkat is not new to the International scene but has never been consistent in the team.
We have to manage the bowlers that we have- Rohit Sharma
During the press conference in Dominica ahead of the first test against the West Indies, skipper Rohit Sharma was asked about the strength of the bowling attack of the current team. Rohit Sharma pointed out that the side doesn’t have the luxury of having a huge crop of fast bowlers.
“Fast bowlers have claimed a lot of wickets here [in West Indies]. People get injured and we have to rotate players unfortunately. Hamare pass fast bowlers ki line nahi lagi hui hain [we don’t have a line of fast bowlers]. There are lots of Indian fast bowlers who are injured, so we have to manage the bowlers that we have. Our experienced bowlers could not come on this tour.” said Rohit Sharma.
“Jaydev is not new. He has been playing from 10-12 years. Mukesh Kumar has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket. We’ll see what combination we can play. This will always be a challenge for Indian cricket because we play a lot. We have to give players enough breaks because we want them to be fresh.”
The World Cup is coming up….- Rohit Sharma
The skipper focused on the upcoming World Cup and emphasized in a positive way that the bench strength of team is improving. Rohit Sharma said that there will be responsibility on the entire 11 players t0 win the match for the side.
“The World Cup is coming up; we need to consider that as well. We don’t have the luxury to focus on one particular series. We have to look ahead. It’s good in a way as we are getting a chance to create bench strength.” said Rohit Sharma.
“There will be responsibility on all 11 players over how to win the match for the team. Of course, when you have been playing for many years, there is greater responsibility on you. But whenever you wear the India t-shirt, everyone’s responsibility is equal. Again, it’s very important for senior players to step up. But the simple fact is, I want all 11 players to step up,” he added.
Also Read: IND vs WI: Rohit Sharma Led Side Awaits A Steep Caribbean Challenge