Indian team captain, Rohit Sharma, has addressed the challenges faced by the Indian pace bowling attack in the upcoming Test series against the West Indies. With injuries to key fast bowlers, India struggles to field a fully equipped and experienced bowling unit. Mohammed Siraj will lead the attack, supported by Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, and newcomer Mukesh Kumar. Rohit Sharma emphasized the importance of managing the workload of fast bowlers and expressed confidence in the abilities of the available players.
Rohit Sharma acknowledged the difficulties in assembling a quality pace bowling attack due to the injury concerns of a few fast bowlers. The absence of Jasprit Bumrah, resting Mohammed Shami, and the exclusion of Umesh Yadav have impacted India’s options. The captain highlighted the need to rotate the fast bowlers and manage their workload effectively.
“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),” Rohit told reporters.
Rohit Sharma highlighted the challenges faced by Indian cricket in terms of an abundance of injuries among fast bowlers. He expressed confidence in the abilities of the available options, particularly Jaydev Unadkat and Mukesh Kumar. Rohit praised Unadkat’s experience, having played for over a decade, and acknowledged Mukesh Kumar’s consistent performances in domestic cricket.
“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,” he further stated.
Rohit Sharma discussed the team’s consideration of various bowling combinations and stressed the importance of giving players sufficient breaks to keep them fresh. With limited options, the team management must carefully select the most suitable combination for the conditions in the West Indies.
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“Jaydev is not new. He has been playing for 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,” he added.
With 19 matches in red-ball cricket, Mohammed Siraj is the most experienced pacer in the current Indian squad. He will play a pivotal role in leading the bowling attack. Shardul Thakur (9 matches), Jaydev Unadkat (2 matches), Navdeep Saini (2 matches), and debutant Mukesh Kumar complete the pace bowling lineup for the Test series.
