New Delhi: The absence of Jasprit Bumrah at the T20 World Cup will surely be felt, not just by his team but by the tournament as he is one of the finest pacers of the modern era. However, for Team India captain Rohit Sharma career of Bumrah has more importance than the World Cup.
Bumrah made a small comeback to international cricket during the three-match T20I series against Australia at home before a back injury ended his hopes of making the cut for the marquee event that starts on Sunday.
Rohit Sharma talks about absence of Jasprit Bumrah from World Cup
Rohit said, “we spoke to a lot of the specialists about his injuries, but we did not get a decent response,” Rohit said on Saturday. “This World Cup is important, but his career is more important. He is only 27-28, there is a lot of cricket in front of him.”
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“So, we can’t take such a risk. All the specialists we spoke to were of the same opinion. There is a lot of cricket ahead of him, he will play a lot more and help India win matches. There is no doubt that he will be missed,” he added.
Once it was confirmed that Bumrah won’t take the flight to Australia, it was announced that veteran Mohammed Shami will replace him in the 15-man squad despite having not played any cricket since July.
Shami though was supposed to make his competitive return in the T20I series against Australia last month but covid prevented him from doing so. And once he recovered, Shami had to pass a series of fitness tests before being given a go-ahead to link up with the Indian squad.
Rohit Sharma talks about Mohammad Shami
Rohit said, “Shami was down with Covid-19 two-three weeks back, he was at home, in his farm. He was then called over to the National Cricket Academy, he went there and worked quite hard over the last 10 days. His recovery after Covid was very good. He had three to four bowling sessions. All in all, everything is good as far as Shami is concerned.”
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“We have our practice session in Brisbane tomorrow. He (Shami) will practice with the team. Whatever we have heard about Shami so far, is very positive. Injuries are part and parcel of the sport, there is nothing much that can be done about it. When you play so many games, injuries are bound to happen. Our focus in this last year was that we should build our bench strength,” he said.
“When it comes to injuries, we have done a lot with regard to player management in the last one year, but these things happen, and there is not much you can do about it. Our focus in the last year was to get the players in the queue ready and give them opportunities. We know injuries can happen anytime, so our constant focus was to give the players in the waiting enough games and back them,” the India captain concluded.
