MELBOURNE: Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, said on Saturday that Jasprit Bumrah's career is more important than forcing him to compete in the forthcoming (Sunday, 16 October) T20 World Cup in Australia.
Owing to a lower-back injury, Bumrah was forced to withdraw from the competition. It was widely believed that it would take him six weeks to recuperate from this latest setback after missing Asia Cup 2022 due to a lower-back injury. "We discussed his injuries with many of the experts, but we did not receive a satisfactory response. Although the World Cup is significant, his career is more significant. He still has a lot of cricket to play; he's only 27 or 28.
Therefore, we cannot take this risk. Every specialist we spoke with shared the same viewpoint. He will play a lot more cricket in the years to come and will aid India in winning games. Without a question, he will be missed," Rohit remarked during the captains' day celebration in Melbourne.
Senior pacer Mohammed Shami was selected on Friday to replace Bumrah in India's lineup for the championship match. Shami hasn't played a T20 International since last year's T20 World Cup in the UAE, when he last played competitive cricket during a tour of England. He participated in India's T20I series against Australia and South Africa but was disqualified after a Covid-19 test revealed a positive result.
"Shami was at home on his farm two to three weeks ago when he went down with Covid-19. After that, he received a call to report to the National Cricket Academy, where he spent the final ten days working very hard. After Covid, he made a very good recovery. Overall, everything is well for Shami, Rohit said, and he had three to four bowling sessions.
After a week-long camp in Perth, where they played two practise matches against the Western Australia XI, India will now head towards Brisbane. They will play two exhibition games against the reigning champions Australia on October 17 and the runners-up New Zealand on October 19 at Brisbane. At the Melbourne Cricket Ground, India's T20 World Cup campaign will begin on October 23 against archrival Pakistan (MCG).
Tomorrow is our practise session in Brisbane. Shaami will work out with the group. So far, everything we've heard about Shami has been great. Sport-related injuries are unavoidable; little can be done to prevent them. Injury is inevitable when you play so many games, said Rohit.
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