CHENNAI: Even as India are getting to have one last outing in Ahmedabad before the Champions Trophy, their biggest concern is the uncertainty over two of their biggest frontline pacers — Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
First things first, Bumrah, who walked off the field at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the first week of January due to back swelling, is racing against the clock to get ready for the global event. In the time since the fifth Test against Australia, Bumrah has been resting and in rehab before going to the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. He had his scans and is perhaps still not fully fit to fly out next week to Dubai, where India will play all their games.
However, if murmurs are to be believed, even if Bumrah is not 100 per cent, he might still be named in the final squad and fly to the United Arab Emirates. And it seems logical too considering that India play two games till February 23 after which they have a week before taking on New Zealand in their final league game before the semifinal and final. Which means that even if Bumrah misses the first two games, he might still have enough time to take the field in the business end of the tournament. With captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar sitting down in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, things will get clear as the teams handover their final squads to the ICC.
Meanwhile, the case of Shami could be more pressing considering his form and lack of rhythm during the ongoing ODI series against England. There were glimpses of peak Shami who would make batters dance to his tunes, shaping the ball both ways, but he has not been able to sustain consistency in his lines and lengths against England. In his defence, in both the ODIs, India bowled during the day and Shami is someone who can swing the ball more under the lights. That being said, the fact that he is not necessarily hitting the right lengths — in Cuttack, Shami was bowling back of length a lot more which allowed the English batters to adjust and counter him accordingly — and doesn't seem as fluent as he was during the home World Cup is something to be wary of.
Ahead of the first ODI in Nagpur, India captain Sharma threw his weight behind the 34-year-old pacer. "He has not played cricket for a year and a half. Don't be quick to judge players. He has been playing cricket for the last 10-12 years and performed for the team. He bowled so well in the (ODI) World Cup. if he doesn't get the results in some domestic matches as expected then it doesn't make him a bad bowler. He has bowled so much, took so many wickets and won many games, so think about it. We just see what has happened now, but don't see what has happened in the past. We have a short-term memory. How he single-handedly won us matches in the World Cup, took a lot of five-wicket hauls," Sharma had said.
While it is true, what will also put the team management at ease is the fact that they will need only two seamers in Dubai. With Hardik Pandya as third seamer and three spinners, India might not necessarily have to worry about Shami completing his full quota of overs. Bumrah is still waiting and there is also Arshdeep Singh keen to make a mark which would mean they can use Shami as and when required while relying on the spinners. At the same time, India would want nothing more than fully fit Bumrah and Shami steaming in come the knockouts of the Champions Trophy.
