"We are in constant touch with the NCA"- Rohit Sharma gives update on Jasprit Bumrah's fitness
Indian captain Rohit Sharma is hopeful that speedster Jasprit Bumrah gets enough game time before the all-important ODI World Cup in October later this year. Bumrah has been out of action since September last year after suffering from a stress fracture in his lower back.
While reports regarding Bumrah's potential comeback in T20Is against Ireland have been making rounds, Rohit is hopeful that the pacer gets into his groove soon by playing as much as he can.
Speaking to the reporters ahead of India's first ODI against West Indies, Rohit Sharma reiterated Jasprit Bumrah's importance.
"He (Bumrah) has loads of experience and that experience will be crucial for us," said Rohit. "He is coming back from a long injury and I don’t know whether he will play in the Ireland T20Is. But we will try to give him as much game time as possible before the World Cup."
The Indian skipper added:
"When you’re returning from such a big injury, you don’t have that match practice and match fitness. So the more he plays, the better it is for himself as well as the team. We are in constant touch with the NCA and he looks good at the moment."
Rohit Sharma also spoke about the injury woes that the Indian team are facing in their ODI setup and how important it is to keep backups ready. He added:
"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. Along with focusing on the XI, we need to focus on other 15-20 players too because anyone can get injured."
Rohit Sharma on the road to the World Cup
India could play as many as 12 ODIs starting from the series against the West Indies leading up to the ODI World Cup. Rohit Sharma is aware of the number of games left before the showpiece event and feels there is enough time for them to give chances to some players and see if they fit the bill.
On this, he stated:
"10-12 ODIs is a decent amount of games to understand the kind of way we want to play our cricket and the individuals we need to play. Some players haven’t played much and need a bit of exposure. So our job is to give them a specific role and see how they are performing in that particular role."
The first of the three ODIs against West Indies will be played on Thursday, July 27 at Bridgetown, Barbados.