Injuries are part and parcel of the game and the Indian cricket team has dealt many in the recent past. Several superstars have been away from action in the past few months. But as the Asia Cup 2023 approaches, they also seem to be on their way back.
Team India team received a massive boost with the return of Jasprit Bumrah. The ace Indian quick is set to play his first international match since September last year. He will lead a bunch of youngsters in a three-match T20I series against Ireland, starting Friday in Dublin. On the other hand, the likes of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are also pushing themselves hard for a comeback.
But former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels that Bumrah can play in the forthcoming continental championship but rushing in Rahul and Iyer won’t be a great idea because they need to play a few matches before heading into the tournament.
“They have to play matches, give them some matches before the Asia Cup. They should be picked in the team na. Abhi to shuru ho jata hai Asia Cup (Asia Cup is about to start now). Where will they play?” said Shastri on Star Sports.
“Injuries happen. You have to be careful. You try to rush just with Bumrah. Not once, not twice, three times, I mean and he’s been sitting out for 14 months now,” he said.
Shastri further suggested having a total of three left-handers in the line-up and would like to play Ishan Kishan right at the top of the order, as a partner of Rohit Sharma.
“[Shall play Ishan Kishan] at the top of the order, nowhere else. And the others have to be flexible,” Shastri told Star Sports.
“Between Rohit, Virat and Gill… that can be 2, 3, 4,” he added.
Highlighting the importance of left-handers in the line-up, Shastri recalled India’s defeat against New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup. He said India lost the game despite having a great run in the tournament and Shikhar Dhawan, who was ruled out midway, was the missing man.
“And a very important point is, I was a coach at that time, and I keep saying that people don’t give the credit that Shikhar Dhawan deserves. I mean, that guy was an amazing player. You mention the World Cup in 2019 where we lost that semifinal, when we had a brilliant World Cup, he was the missing man there. You know, that made such a big difference – a left-hander at the top of the order, as opposed to three right-handers with the ball swinging away, which allowed teams to get a grip on where to bowl and bowl consistently,” Shastri explained.
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