File photo of Jasprit Bumrah© BCCI
Former Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri warned selectors against rushing the comeback of star pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah who is still recovering from injury. Bumrah has not played a single game since September 2022 and although there was some hope of his return, he ended up missing the T20 World Cup, Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and the World Test Championship (WTC) Final. Shastri said in a recent interaction that rushing his return for the ODI World Cup later this year can end up being bad news for the team and the fast bowler.
“He (Bumrah) is a very important cricketer. But if you rush him for the World Cup then you might lose him for four months later on, much like Shaheen Afridi. So there’s a thin line and it needs to be thought about,” Shastri toldThe Week in an interview.
Shastri also said that he does not see Hardik Pandya coming back to Test cricket and added that it is a possibility that the all-rounder will become the India white-ball skipper after the ODI World Cup.
“Let’s be clear. His body (Hardik) cannot cope with Test cricket. After the World Cup, I feel he should take over captaincy in white-ball cricket. Rohit should lead India in the World Cup, no question there,” he said.
The former India skipper also spoke about Ravichandran Ashwin‘s recent comments about the Indian cricket team dressing room.
“For me, it was always colleagues. You will have buddies who are colleagues. I mean… how many close friends do anyone have? If you go and ask anyone, they will say 4-5… in their life! I’m happy with 5 close friends in my life, I don’t want more than that,” Shastri said.
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