CHENNAI: Injuries has been the buzz word in Indian cricket over the last three weeks. Harshit Rana or Washington Sundar or Jasprit Bumrah or Nitish K Reddy got injured before and during England tour. B Sai Sudharsan and Bumrah did not get fit in time for the Sri Lanka tour.
The list only seems to be growing at a time when the BCCI and its Centre of Excellence have come out and said that there is no gap in communication between CoE and the team management. Now, with days to go for the first Test against Sri Lanka India captain Shubman Gill India will be fielding a Bumrah-less pace attack in a must-win series.
"I think there has been a concern, I'm sure," former India cricketer Mohammed Kaif told this daily in an interaction facilitated by Sony Sports Network on Wednesday. "Losing out Bumrah in the last ODI at Lord's decider doesn't help the cause, no? And it's not fair on someone like Shubman Gill who is a young captain and wants to create a legacy like Rohit Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have done in the past. So, I think it's not fair on him because he has to play all the young boys," he added.
With Bumrah missing out in the third ODI against England at Lord's, India conceded 387/3 before falling short by 27 runs. Kaif felt it is hard to replace players like Bumrah or Virat Kohli or Rohit when they are injured. "People say that there are a lot of players in our line. If someone leaves, it won't make a difference to us. We have lots of players playing very well and we have the replacement ready. But my concern would be, you cannot replace Bumrah. There won't be another Bumrah, Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma."
"I think England made 388. If you had Bumrah playing that game, 388 might not have happened. We lost that match by 25 odd runs. We made 360 something. I think this is a concern. I am sure there will be debates on this and it should be rectified in the future," Kaif explained.
The former India batter felt that Gill has come a long way as captain and will end up as the leading run-scorer in the two-Test series. "He has come a long way as a captain. As a player, of course, he has been in sublime form recently, scoring runs in all three formats. In Sri Lanka, according to me, he will be the highest run-scorer for India. That's my gut feeling. I think people say it will be a turning track. I don't think so. I think it's going to be a good pitch to bat on. Later, Day 4-5, of course, the ball turns in all the Tests. But I think Day 1 and 2 will be a good pitch to bat on. And Gill is going to enjoy the ball coming on to the bat," said Kaif.
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