Team India lost the second Test in Adelaide where Mitchell Starc set the tone with his stunning show in the first innings. Later on, Pat Cummins too did well whereas India failed to step up in both innings as well. However, Jasprit Bumrah tried to do well but it didn’t help India as Australia managed to level the series 1-1 following Australia’s 10-wicket win. And, India captain Rohit Sharma said that they want Bumrah to play all 5 Tests as well.
“No, see, as and when he has a spell, I talk to him. I ask him how his body is feeling. Is he fresh or not?,” Rohit explained about the factors that go into using Bumrah. “Because it’s a five-match series, as you said. And in a five-match series, we want Bumrah to play all the matches and remain fresh. So, it becomes important to analyse all this when you are playing a Test match in which the bowler is bowling… how much workload is there? How much is not there? It becomes important to manage all this.”
“So, as I said, we have doctors, physios, and trainers. We regularly see which bowler has how much gas, how much fuel, how long he can go, how much he can’t go. So, we talk about all this. And see, we are not just playing with one bowler. There are other bowlers also who will have to take responsibility and work for the team. And whether it’s [Mohammed] Siraj, Harshit Rana, Nitish Reddy, Akash Deep or Prasidh [Krishna]…,” he added.
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“These people have just joined Test Cricket. It’s important to give them confidence. Whenever they play a match, it’s important to give them confidence. So, keeping all this in mind, the planning that we do, how to bowl to whom, how much to bowl, we keep planning and discussing. But you can’t expect that Bumrah will bowl from both ends from morning to evening. So, it’s very important for bowlers to manage. And we discuss all this with each other, discuss with the bowler and then take the decision,” he again shared.
However, Jasprit Bumrah’s workload is accentuated by the continuous absence of another pacer Mohammed Shami, who has been absent for India since last year’s ODI World Cup final due to injury. Rohit also said that the door was open for Shami to be called up to Australia but they also don’t want to rush the veteran back as well.
“That door is very much open. But we are just monitoring him. Because while playing Syed Mushtaq Ali, he again got some swelling in his knee. Which obviously hampers his preparation to come and play a Test match. We want to be very, very careful,” Rohit Sharma said. “We don’t want to bring him here in a situation and he plays and then he pulls up sore or something happens. We want to be more than 100% sure with him. Because it’s been such a long time that he has not played cricket. And to be fair to him, we don’t want to put pressure on him to come here and do the job for the team. So, there are some professionals who are monitoring him.”
“I don’t think it matters too much. All our guys are used to playing in such big crowds. Things go well, they support. Things don’t go well, they don’t support. That happens everywhere. But Siraj knows what he needs to do for the team and he will do everything that is required,” Rohit further said. “Leaving the external factor aside, his job is to take wickets and he will do everything he can to try and get wickets for his team. All those things that happen outside, guys are quite mature now to keep those things outside, not to let them affect their game. So, Siraj is one of them.”
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“I mean, he likes to get into the battle as simple as that. It gives him success. And as a captain, it’s my job, you know, to back that aggression. Obviously, there is a fine line between that. We don’t want to cross anything that can bring dispute into the game. But obviously, having a word or two with the opposition is not a bad thing and he likes it. And that’s what gets him going. In the past, we have seen so many cricketers who likes that battle. And Siraj is definitely one of them. But again, like I said, there is a thin line between getting aggressive and getting too aggressive, and crossing that line. Obviously, as a captain, it is also my responsibility to make sure that we don’t cross the line. But yeah, a word or two here and there, I don’t think makes a huge difference,” he stated.
He also backed young fast bowler Harshit Rana, who had a rough Test as Australia scored nearly six runs to the over against him as well.
“No, look, Rana didn’t do anything wrong in the first Test match. Whatever he did, he did very well. He gave the team crucial breakthroughs when they needed them. So, I believe that if someone hasn’t done anything wrong, it can’t be done without any reason. And it shouldn’t be done either. Because what confidence do you have in the team? That you give me one match and take the other out. This is not good for any player or any team. That’s what I think,” he expressed.
“We should see what the situation is and how helpful the conditions are. But look, judging someone for one match is not the right thing. But look, we always keep the options open for any player to play. Because we have to win this Test match. And to win this Test match, if we have to make such changes, then we will. But I felt that if he hasn’t done anything wrong, then it doesn’t make any sense to take him out without any reason. And he took 3-4 wickets in the practice match as well. So, he was bowling in a good rhythm. Sometimes it happens. Sometimes the team doesn’t get what they want. He came in front of a good batter [Head]. He put pressure on him. But he has a big heart, he has a heart. So, we should back such things,” Rohit Sharma concluded.
