Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 17 (ANI): India captain Rohit Sharma asserted that they have plans in place to manage the workload of their pacers as they begin a jam-packed Test schedule which begins on Thursday against Bangladesh.
India will play their first of 10 Tests on Thursday at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. During the course of 15 weeks, players like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj could end up taking heavy workloads, especially in Australia, from November to January.
“We have laid out some plans on how we are going to manage these bowlers. But again, it all depends on the workload that has been carried by them in these games. So yeah, we will monitor that. I think we have done that pretty well. Even when we played against England [at home earlier this year], we managed to get Jasprit Bumrah one Test match off. We managed to give Siraj one Test match off,” Rohit said during the pre-series press conference against Bangladesh.
After India wraps up the two-match Test series against Bangladesh on October 1, the Rohit-led side will host New Zealand for three Tests. The series will last till early November, and then India will head to Australia to play five Tests in eight weeks.
“So it all depends on how the body feels at that particular time, what the [strength and conditioning] is, and what the physios feel about them when is the right time to give them a break from the game, and then take the call,” he added.
The upcoming series against Bangladesh will mark the first Test assignment for head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Gambhir’s first ODI assignment did not end on successful note after Sri Lanka spinners exposed the Indian batters to seal a 2-0 series win.
Before two Tests against Bangladesh, Gambhir, his assistant coach, and the Indian team are in a training camp in Chennai. Bowling coach Morne Morkel also began his stint with India after linking up with the team for the first time.
“The staff is new, but I know both Gautam Gambhir and Abhishek Nayar. I have played quite a bit of cricket against [bowling coach] Morne Morkel; we’ve played some tough cricket against each other. I’ve also played, maybe a couple of games, against [assistant coach] Ryan [ten Doeschate], but the two of us haven’t spoken as much before. From what I experienced with him in Sri Lanka, I think he has a sensible and [an] understanding personality, given the way he quickly started to understand things about the team,” Rohit said.
“As for Gambhir and Nayar, like I said, I know them well. Sri Lanka was the first series [with them in charge], and now they are going to play their second series with the team. Everyone has their own style. Rahul [Dravid] bhai, Vikram Rathour, [and] Paras Mhambrey – they had a different way of running the team, [while] these guys will have a different style,” he added.
“So it’s important for you to adjust. So far, there have been no problems or issues as a player. Like I said, if there is understanding between both [coaches and players], that’s the most important thing. And we have a good understanding,” Rohit noted.
After India concludes their home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand, all eyes will be set on the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
Rohit does not see the two Tests against Bangladesh as preparation for the challenges that lie ahead of them in the overseas conditions.
“So there is no dress rehearsal kind of stuff happening here. Every game that we play is important, and every game becomes important because of what is at stake. [In the] World Test Championship, still, the table is quite wide open, and you want to win every game. So it doesn’t matter where we play in two months’ time. We want to win here. We want to win this Test match,” Rohit said.
“We assembled here on the 12th, and we’ve had a good time spending hours on the field, [and] getting everything together. So yeah, it is tough. But see, now people are so experienced, they manage themselves pretty well. And guys who have not played a lot of Test cricket obviously went on to play the Duleep Trophy, which was good,” he added.
India’s squad for the 1st Test against Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal. (ANI)
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