Rohit Sharma, the Indian cricket team’s captain, has emphasized the importance of expanding the team’s bench strength, particularly in the fast-bowling department. He believes that having eight or nine players ready to step into the first XI at any given moment will help injury-proof the team.
“We want to create a bench strength where tomorrow if anything happens to anyone, we are not worried, and we don’t want to be worried or too heavily reliant on a few individuals,” Rohit said. “We want to look at the future at the same time, try and make sure that we get the right guys in as well.”
Along with the 15-member squad for the three-match series against New Zealand, India are also carrying Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav, and Nitish Kumar Reddy as traveling reserves. Mayank and Reddy recently made their international debuts in the T20Is against Bangladesh, while Rana was an unused member of that squad.
Rohit explained that the reason for keeping these players close to the team is to assess their potential for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. “We just want to monitor them and see their workload. We have seen some talent in them. I understand that they have not played a lot of red-ball cricket, but when you see a talent, you want to try and groom them.”
Mayank Yadav, in particular, has impressed Rohit with his pace and accuracy. “Mayank obviously has shown what he can do, but we just want to be very careful with him, he has had a lot of injuries in the past,” Rohit said. “So, we want to progress him, not rapidly, we want to just see every day how he feels.”
The most important cog in India’s fast-bowling line-up is Jasprit Bumrah, who has been named vice-captain for the series against New Zealand. Rohit believes that Bumrah has the potential to step in as captain in the early Tests against Australia next month.
“He’s always been part of that leadership group and one of the experienced players as well,” Rohit said of Bumrah. “He’s played a lot of cricket and I’ve played a lot of cricket with him. He understands the game pretty well. He’s got a good head on his shoulders.”
Rohit remained tight-lipped about the India XI for the opening Test against New Zealand, stating that they will take a call once they reach the venue on match day.
