Rohit Sharma & Co unfazed despite missing key players as T20I series v Sri Lanka gets underway in Lucknow today
Rohit Sharma. Pic/PTI
Injuries are turning out to be double-edged for Team India. On one hand, they are missing out on key players, but on the other, it enables them to try out more and more players to widen their pool in preparation for the T20 World Cup, to be held in Australia later this year.
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Two in-form players, Suryakumar Yadav (SKY) and Deepak Chahar, were injured during the last T20 game against West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday. Chahar had pulled his hamstring after bowling just 11 balls and did not travel to Lucknow.
Suryakumar fractures thumb
Suryakumar, on the other hand, was hopeful that the injury he sustained while fielding in Kolkata was a minor one. It’s only when he had an X-Ray of his injured thumb at a local hospital here on Tuesday, it revealed that he had a fracture and was out of the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, which begins with the first game at the Ekana stadium here today.
The injures as well as the rest given to players like Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have opened a window of opportunity for players waiting in the wings. Although the Indian think-tank, headed by Rahul Dravid, has reportedly zeroed in on the core group for the T20 World Cup, it’s always good to have a larger pool to fall back on in case of injuries or loss of form.
Talking to the media on the eve of the first ODI, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said that though injuries are a setback for the team as well as the player concerned, it also gives someone else a chance to fill in. “Injuries, though a part and parcel of the game, are never easy on the players and the team. Look at SKY’s freak injury. He was standing in the slips and was struck on the thumb. He is crestfallen at a time when he was in top form, being the Man of the Series against the West Indies. He was really looking forward to building on his scoring spree. On the other hand, his injury has opened up opportunities for the guys waiting in the wings to move in and prove their mettle,” Rohit said.
The good news for India is that vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah is back with the team after being rested for the West Indies series and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is fit again after a long injury-related layoff.
Bumrah returns
While Bumrah will straightaway walk-in for Chahar, it will be interesting to see if Jadeja is played in the opening game as he has been away for long and lacks match practice. If he is preferred, one of the wrist spinners—Ravi Bishnoi or Yuzvendra Chahal—will have to make way for him.
Despite the injuries and rested players, India are overwhelming favourites against Sri Lanka, who are in the process of rebuilding their team and recently lost their five-game T20I series 1-4 in Australia.
India, after whitewashing West Indies in both ODIs and T20I, have climbed to the No.1 spot in ICC T20 rankings and would be aiming to maintain their dominance in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup.
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