Rohit Sharma eyes expanded bench strength in fast-bowling department

Bengaluru, Oct 15 : As India gears up for their three-match Test series against New Zealand, captain Rohit Sharma has made it clear that building a deep and reliable bench strength, particularly in the fast-bowling department, is a top priority.

Speaking on the eve of the first Test in Bengaluru, Rohit emphasized the importance of creating a pool of eight or nine fast bowlers who can step into the playing XI at any moment.

“We want to create a bench strength where tomorrow, if anything happens to anyone, we are not worried or too heavily reliant on a few individuals. That's not the right thing to do,” Rohit said, pointing to the need for India to move beyond relying on just a few key individuals.

His goal is to ensure that there are enough ready replacements, especially in the event of injuries, to keep the team competitive and prepared.

"We want to create guys where even if there are injuries, we have got someone to quickly step in and take that role.

"It's not about three or four options. We want to try and do that like, you know, when it comes to batting, there are a lot of options. We want to create the same with the bowlers as well."

India's 15-member squad for the New Zealand series has been bolstered with traveling reserves Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav, and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Rohit explained that these young fast bowlers are being closely monitored to assess their potential for future tours, including the upcoming five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, starting on November 22.

"You know, the reason we wanted to keep them close to us was because we are thinking of them to take them to Australia," Rohit said. The five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins on November 22. "We just want to monitor them and see their workload. We have seen some talent in them. I understand that they have not played a lot of red-ball cricket, but when you see a talent, you want to try and groom them.

"You want to try and bring them as close to the team as possible. And in a short period of time, they have shown they have some ability as well. So, we want to keep them with the team and see whether they will be ready for international cricket or not, especially Test cricket, because Test cricket is a different ball game compared to white ball cricket. So, we want to keep them, we want to see what they can offer us, and have more options with us, more than anything else.

"Nitish and Harshit both obviously are quite talented individuals, and in the future obviously they are going to provide a lot of stability to the team. So, just want to see what they are capable of, what they have to offer."

Mayank Yadav, in particular, has caught the attention of Indian selectors with his blistering pace, reaching speeds of 155kph during IPL 2024. However, with his history of injuries, Rohit stressed the importance of managing his workload carefully.

"Mayank obviously has shown what he can do, but we just want to be very careful with him, he has had a lot of injuries in the past," Rohit said. "So, we want to progress him, not rapidly, we want to just see every day how he feels.

"We are trying to build his workloads with the red ball. He has not played a lot of red-ball cricket at all. So, for us, it's important that we try and build them gradually, rather than just getting them into international cricket straight away.

Rohit also acknowledged the differences between white-ball and red-ball cricket, explaining that while formats like T20 allow a quick glimpse into a player's talent, Test cricket demands stamina and endurance over five days. India’s approach, he said, will be to groom these emerging talents gradually, preparing them for the rigors of international Test cricket.

The first Test, however, faces potential disruption from rain, with relentless showers in Bengaluru forcing the Indian team to cancel their final training session. Rohit remained non-committal about the playing XI, stating that the decision would be based on pitch conditions and weather on match day.

"It all depends on the conditions now. Even today, there has been a lot of rain. The pitch is under the covers. So, we want to take that call when we come here in the morning tomorrow," Rohit said. "And again, it depends on match-to-match, what sort of pitch we play on. Based on that, we want to decide what is going to be our best playing XI. We keep our options open for playing three seamers and three spinners as well."