India have started their home season with back-to-back series wins. The Men in Blue first defeated Sri Lanka in the T20I as well as the ODI series. The Rohit Sharma-led team then completed a clean sweep against New Zealand in the three-match series as they beat the Kiwis by 90 runs in the final ODI on Tuesday. Now, India will take on New Zealand in three T20Is. But the most important international assignment for the Men in Blue is the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
India are all set to play four Test matches against Australia under the BGT 2023, starting on 9 February. With a spot in the World Test Championships Final up for grabs, India need to win the series at any cost. It will be an uphill task for the hosts as Australia are in brilliant form in Test cricket as of late. Thus, India desperately need their top players to fire on all cylinders.
While the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul are all set to play in the series, Rishabh Pant will be a major miss. The wicketkeeper batter is still recovering from the knee injury he suffered in a car accident. Meanwhile, India’s premium pacer Jasprit Bumrah is all set to miss the first two Tests as he is not fully fit yet. But he is not ruled out of the entire series.
Now, India captain Rohit Sharma has dropped a massive hint on Jasprit Bumrah’s comeback. During the post-match press conference of the third ODI, Rohit was asked about Bumrah’s return to action and the Indian captain said that he hopes for the pacer to play the last two Tests.
“Not too sure about Bumrah, I am hoping he plays the next (last) two Tests (against Australia), we don't want to take any risks with him as back injuries are always critical. We have a lot of cricket coming back after that also," Rohit said on Tuesday. "We are in constant touch with physios and doctors in NCA. The medical team will give him as much time as he wants," he added.