Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players'Ghar me the, apne farm pe baithe the': Rohit Sharma makes crucial Mohammed Shami revelation ahead of T20 World Cup
The Indian captain spoke in detail about Mohammed Shami as the pacer was drafted in as replacement for Jasprit Bumrah for the T20 World Cup.
Team India is set to kick start its T20 World Cup campaign on October 23 when the side faces arch-rivals Pakistan. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team will also play in two warm-up matches against Australia (October 17) and New Zealand (October 19). On Friday, the side announced its final change in the squad, with Mohammed Shami replacing the injured Jasprit Bumrah in the 15-member squad. Bumrah was forced to miss out the marquee tournament with a back injury.
Interestingly, Shami hasn't played for India in the shortest format of the game since the previous year's T20 World Cup. He was selected for the Indian T20I squad for the series against Australia and South Africa last month; however, he was infected with Covid-19 and was forced to miss both series. Following his recovery, he practiced at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) before flying to Australia.
In the pre-tournament press conference that was attended by participating captains of all 16 teams at the T20 World Cup, India's Rohit Sharma was asked about his thoughts on Shami replacing Bumrah at the World Cup.
“Injuries are part of the game. Nothing much can be done about it. If you play so many games, there will be injury. Our focus is on improving bench strength. That's why you saw that we give chances to youngsters,” Rohit said.
“Shami ko 2-3 hafte pehle Covid ho gaya tha. Ghar me the, apne farm me baithe the, fir NCA bulaaya. Vo NCA me kaafi mehnat kar rahe the. (Shami was down with Covid 2-3 weeks ago. He was at his home, sitting on his farmhouse. Then we called him to NCA. He worked hard there.),” said the Indian captain.
Talking about Shami's return to the full fitness, Rohit informed that he has bowled 3-4 sessions with full intensity.
“He is in Brisbane now. Indian team will reach Brisbane tomorrow. He will practice with team. Shami is very positive, his recovery has been good. He has done 3-4 bowling sessions with full intensity. Everything is going good with Shami. We have tried a lot to manage players, but unfortunately injuries are part of the game. That's why, our focus was on preparing the bench. Injuries can happen anytime. We wanted to give chances to the young bowlers,” said Rohit.
