Rohit Sharma's statement lays bare India's major problems before WC: 'Players get injured'

India is set to face the West Indies to kick-off their new WTC cycle after recently losing the World Test Championship final to Australia last month, recording their second WTC final loss as they lost the 2019-21 cycle to New Zealand. However, the team’s bowling department has faced many injuries in the past few years, which led to key players missing the ICC event.

3 things you need to know

• India vs West Indies1st Test match will begin today 
• ICC ODI World Cup 2023 will take place in India
• India is set to play in Asia Cup after this series

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Rohit Sharma makes a huge statement about Jasprit Bumrah’s absence 

"For the past six to eight months, I am used to playing without Jasprit Bumrah."

Rohit Sharma commented while captaining the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). Rohit's Mumbai Indians valiantly battled without their primary fast bowler, Bumrah, throughout the competition. Despite the lack of a formidable pace attack, the tenacious squad qualified for the playoffs, demonstrating their mettle as record-breaking victors in the brutally contested season.

Rohit Sharma, who was recovering from an injury at the time, sent a sharp warning to the Indian Team management in December 2022 about players dealing with fitness issues after passing fitness tests at the NCA. This problem made it difficult for India to deploy their all-star team in ICC competitions since they were forced to function without crucial players during the T20 World Cup, including Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja. Similar to this, India was forced to play without KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and Jasprit Bumrah in the ICC World Test Championship final in 2023.

As India will be facing the West Indies to prepare for the Asia Cup and ODI World Cup, they continue to face the issue of injuries hampering their bowling attack, and worries arise for the head coach, Rahul Dravid. Again, Rohit’s IPL teammate Bumrah will be absent, and the coach has decided to rest Shami for the tests against WI. In addition, veteran bowler Umesh Yadav was left out of the Indian team for the West Indies series, following the example of the absence of star batter Cheteshwar Pujara.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma announces changes in India's batting order ahead of the new WTC 2023-25 cycle

What did Rohit Sharma say about the bowling department before IND vs WI?

Talking to the journalists ahead of the first day of the 1st Test of India vs West Indies, the skipper was asked to express his views on the current attacking bowlers that don’t have enough experience. He replied:

“We’ve seen that the pacers have taken a lot of wickets here. But it is what it is. Players get injured and we have to rotate them unfortunately. Humare paas fast bowlers ki line nahi lagi hui hai (We don't have many pacers here). In India, there are a lot of bowlers who are injured. The ones we have, we need to manage them. Which is why our experienced bowlers couldn’t come on this tour.”

The captain went on to highlight that the players that they have chosen have enough experience to compete at the top level. The makeup of India's pace attack for the West Indies series was then emphasised by Rohit Sharma, with Mohammed Siraj emerging as the cornerstone owing to his significant Test experience of 19 matches. Along with Siraj, the roster includes Shardul Thakur (9 Tests), Jaydev Unadkat (2 Tests), Navdeep Saini (2 Tests), and Mukesh Kumar, who was just called up after impressing with his domestic achievements. Rohit appreciates Unadkat's prior debut and hails Mukesh Kumar's constant performance in local, zonal, and India A games. Before finalising the playing XI, the team management will examine the needed combination, taking into account the qualities and talents that each bowler brings to the table.