IND vs AUS 2023: We are very much used to it now – Rohit Sharma on Jasprit Bumrah’s absence

Indian captain Rohit Sharma has revealed the team has gotten used to Jasprit Bumrah’s absence. Bumrah had last played International cricket in the three-match T20I series against Australia in 2022 before the T20 World Cup. The ace pacer was then ruled out of action due to a back injury.

India’s pack leader recently underwent back surgery in New Zealand and now he is expected to get back into action in August. In Bumrah’s absence, fast bowlers like Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur have done a decent job for the team.

“Bumrah has been absent for more than eight months now, the guys and the team are very much used to it. It is very hard to fill Bumrah’s shoes. We all know that he is a quality bowler but now that is not been available for us. Let’s not just keep thinking about that,” Rohit said.

“We have to move ahead and guys have taken the responsibility pretty well (Mohammad ) Siraj, (Mohammed) Shami, Shardul (Thakur), we have got Umran and Jaydev (Unadkat) as well,” he added.

On the other hand, India was skittled out for only 117 runs in the second ODI against Australia after Mitchell Starc wreaked havoc. India’s top and middle order has failed to contribute in the first two ODIs against the visitors but Rohit added that they had done a good job in the series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Rohit also played down India’s woes against left-arm seamers and feels right-arm pacers have also troubled them.

“No, I mean. When you have a quality bowler in the opposition, he is bound to take wickets. He is trying his best to take your best batters out. So in that, whether it’s a left-armer or a right-armer, they will get wickets. Right-armers have troubled us as well, nobody talks about it. So, we don’t look too much into the left-arm or the right arm. Wickets are wickets, if you lose wickets, it’s a concern. We will look into all sorts of things, how we are getting out, what we need to come up with better plans and methods against seamers.”

“Yes, the two games we played, we have struggled a little bit at the top. Honestly, it’s just two games. In the last 6 ODIs, at the back of my mind, if I remember, a lot of the top-order batters got runs. When we really need to look into it, we will look into it. I don’t think it’s the right time now,” said Rohit.

The third and final ODI will be played at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Wednesday.