Rohit Sharma Backs Bhuvneshwar Kumar As India Look To Fix T20 Bowling

26.09.2022 - 17:45 sports.ndtv.com

Improving India's bowling remains the team's focus ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup next month, skipper Rohit Sharma has said, adding that he backs seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar to come out of a recent slump.

India went past Aaron Finch's Australia by six wickets to clinch the three-match T20 series 2-1, and now host South Africa for a white-ball series starting Wednesday.

The team's batsmen, including Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav, have been in good form and shared a 104-run partnership to secure victory on Sunday, but the final-overs bowling has been a cause of worry.

Kumar, once a champion of choking runs in the final overs of a T20 match, has been expensive lately. He leaked 21 runs in the 18th over in the series-decider, with Tim David hitting him for two sixes and a four. "We know that he has had more good days than the bad days in the last so many years," Rohit said of the veteran fast bowler in a post-match press conference. "Yes, of late it has not been the kind of performance that he wants but that can happen to any of the bowlers.

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Rohit Sharma is indeed a man of people. Often seen clicking pictures and talking to his fans in the crowd, the star batter gave an 11-year-old fan a moment he would remember for his lifetime. Rohit let the kid bowl at him in the nets. 11-year-old Drushil Chauhan was part of a morning event at the WACA ground in Perth. The Indian team arrived for their noon practice session. From their dressing room, they could see 100-odd young children playing cricket and it was Drushil who caught everyone's attention. He was given a chance to bowl to the Indian captain, Rohit Sharma. "We were at the WACA for a noon practice session and kids were finishing their morning event. We could see 100-odd kids playing cricket from our dressing room. One caught everyone's attention, especially Rohit. Everyone was amazed by his smooth run-up, his natural talent and how he was beating the bat consistently. Rohit went out to ask him to bowl few balls in the nets. It was an amazing sight," said Hari Prasad Mohan, Team India's analyst, in a video posted by BCCI.

'Jasprit Bumrah's Career More Important Than This T20 World Cup': Rohit Sharma

Team India was given a body blow ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup due to a back injury. The management might have named Mohammed Shami as a replacement for the injured pacer, but the question on everyone's minds is how the team will fair without the services of lead pacer, who is almost irreplaceable at the death. On Saturday, speaking to media, skipper Rohit Sharma spoke about the injury to Bumrah, and how saving his career is more important than the World Cup.

India Have Bench Strength To Cover Injuries: Rohit Sharma Ahead Of T20 World Cup

India has the bench strength to make up for the absence of its injured stars when its T20 World Cup campaign gets under way against archrivals Pakistan, skipper Rohit Sharma said Saturday. Mohammed Shami has been added to India's 15-man squad to replace pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who is out with back issues, for the marquee tournament in Australia starting Sunday. Key all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is also missing the tournament due to injury, but Rohit insisted the team was ready for the challenge with the players at hand.

T20 World Cup: I already have my XI against Pakistan, says Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma said that the playing XI for the match has been decided and he doesn't believe in a last-minute decision as he wants them to prepare well. The India-Pakistan clash in the 2022 T20 World Cup is among the most awaited sporting events of the year. The two arch-rivals clashing against each other at a stadium as iconic as the Melbourne Cricket Ground(MCG) in the marquee event, it really does not get much better than this. Both India and Pakistan are part of Group 2 in the Super 12 stage alongside South Africa, and Bangladesh while two teams will join them from the qualifiers.

"He Will Control The Game": Suresh Raina Picks India's "Go-To Man" At T20 World Cup. It's Not Virat Kohli Or Rohit Sharma

The eyes of all cricket fans are focussed on just one direction right now - the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Most of the teams have already reached Down Under as the action begins on Sunday. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team is one of the heavyweights going into the tournament, however, it had to tackle few injury problems in the buildup to the marquee event. India will be without star allrounder Ravindra Jadeja and pacer Jasprit Bumrah - both of whom were injured. While all other top players are fit, Suresh Raina, member of India's 2011 50-over World Cup-winning team, gave his take on the player who will 'control the game' for the 'Men in Blue'.

How Is Mohammed Shami Faring Up For T20 World Cup? Rohit Sharma Answers

The T20 World Cup is just around the corner and the qualifiers will begin from Sunday with Sri Lanka taking on Namibia. However, the Super 4 stage will start on October 22 with hosts Australia squaring off against New Zealand. However, the one match that everyone has their eyes on is between India and Pakistan on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Team India reached Australia and they played two practice games against Western Australia XI. The side will also square off against Australia and New Zealand in official warm-up games before taking on Pakistan.