The Indian cricket team has been experimenting with the squad in the limited-over series for quite some time. However, this did not affect the outcome of the matches but has proved that India has at least two back-ups for all positions in the squad. Speaking on it, India captain Rohit Sharma has now revealed that he and head coach Rahul Dravid planned the move to bring in backups for the top stars in the team.
India has experimented heavily with its bowling department in the past few months and Sharma says it’s because star pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will not be part of the national team forever, which has prompted the team to give more chances to youngsters.
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“Bumrah, (Mohammed) Shami and all these guys will not be with the Indian team forever, so you have to try and prepare the other guys,” Rohit said.
The Indian skipper also added that giving chances to youngsters will also help with injury concerns going ahead.
“I and Rahul (Dravid) bhai spoke about how we are going to create our bench strength because that’s going to be very crucial considering the amount of cricket we play, considering the injury factors and everything,” he added.
The Indian cricket team has witnessed several captains in 2022, from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul, who has been handed the captaincy in the ongoing ODI series against Zimbabwe. According to Rohit, Team India does not want to depend on any individual players, which is another reason to promote youth.
“We never want to be a team that relies on one or two individuals, we want to be a team where everyone can contribute and help the team win on their own,” he said.
The 35-year-old also revealed that the majority of the Indian team is confirmed for the upcoming T20 World Cup, however, changes are to be expected considering the tournament is still a few months away.
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“There are still about two-and-a-half months left for the T20 World Cup. Before that, we have the Asia Cup and two home series against Australia and South Africa. So, 80-90 per cent of your team is set, of course there could be three-four changes if at all depending on the conditions,” he revealed.
Sharma also said that since the conditions in Australia during the T20 World Cup will be different to what the Indian team is experiencing currently, it will also need to be noted.