With just a few months remaining for the 2023 ODI World Cup, India have been left to deal with fitness concerns of several first-choice players. And with each passing day, they will be eager to test them in match situations so as to ensure all are well primed for the marquee event.
Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are going through recovery process for various injuries.
Bumrah’s absence has been the longest that the team has to cope up. He last played a competitive game in September last year during what was an ill-fated attempt at comeback ahead of T20 World Cup.
In recent days, there have been reports of Bumrah’s possible return date with CricketNext reporting Ireland T20Is in August could see the right-arm pacer making his international comeback.
However, former India allrounder and head coach Ravi Shastri thinks that the team management should avoid rushing his comeback lest they end up with a bigger crisis ala Shaheen Shah Afridi of Pakistan.
Shaheen hurt his right knee during a Test in Sri Lanka last year due to which he ended up missing the Asia Cup 2022. However, he was declared fit for the T20 World Cup but the left-arm pacer ended up hurting the same knee during the title clash against England which pushed him into the sidelines again.
“He (Bumrah) is a very important cricketer. But if you rush him for the World Cup then you might lose him for four months later on, much like Shaheen Afridi. So there’s a thin line and it needs to be thought about,” Shastri told The Week.
Shastri also touched upon the wealth of talent India have at their disposal currently that makes quality replacements readily available for any senior players if needed.
“You have Ishan Kishan. In the wicketkeeping department, you have Sanju (Samson). But the left-handers, you have (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, Tilak Varma. There is enough left-handed talent that can replace any senior player at the moment,” he said.
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