India resume their preparations for the ODI World Cup 2023 at home with a three-match series against West Indies, the first match of which will be played on Thursday at Barbados. With injuries to a few key players, India are still some distance away from having a settled squad.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah is one of the biggest names currently out of the team setup due to back surgery for a niggle that took place in New Zealand in March. Bumrah has not played for India since the T20Is against Australia in September last year.
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Bumrah recently uploaded a video of himself bowling full throttle at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Also, there have been reports that Bumrah could be part of India’s squad for the T20I series in Ireland in August’s second half.
On Bumrah’s fitness update, Rohit on the eve of the ODI series said that he has no idea if the pacer will travel to Ireland but things “look positive”.
“The amount of experience he (Bumrah) brings is very important. Right now he’s coming from a serious injury and I’ve no idea if he’ll travel to Ireland because the team hasn’t been announced yet,” Rohit at the press conference ahead of the first ODI. “If he gets to play then it’s good and we hope he plays before the World Cup. When a player returns from a serious injury, match fitness, match feeling are some key components, which are missing.”
“We’ll see what has been planned and everything depends on his recovery. We are in constant touch with the NCA and things look positive at the moment,” added Rohit.
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Apart from Bumrah Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are also out from the ODDI squad currently. Iyer is also recovering from back surgery at NCA while Rahul had surgery on his right thigh. Pant is recovering from injuries suffered in a car accident.
Rohit said that the team needs experienced players in the World Cup but with the injury issues it’s important to keep the backups ready.
“You need experience when you go into big tournaments. But when there are injuries, you just don’t know what you can do about it. Quite a few players are injured from our team but we try to identify players who are going to play in the World Cup and give them as many matches as possible so that they get the experience,” the captain said.
“Along with focusing on the XI, we need to focus on other 15-20 players too because anyone can get injured.”
On the importance of the ODI series against West Indies, Rohit said that the series is going to help India try out backup players in different positions.
“This (West Indies) is a very important series for us because many players are new here, they haven’t played many matches, so it’s important to give them exposure. They should be played and given a role and we will also get a chance to see if they have been given a role, how they are performing in the role, and how they are responding. In the three matches here, which all players we can give chances to and then we will take a decision after these 10-12 ODIs (before the World Cup),” Rohit said.
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