India captain Rohit Sharma talked about the squad having four reserve players with them for the three-Test series against New Zealand. Mayank Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Prasidh Krishna, and Harshit Rana were named as traveling reserves with the Indian Test squad.
With India preparing for the highly anticipated Test series against New Zealand, the focus is not just on winning, but also on developing young potential within the squad.
Rohit Sharma, squad India's Test captain, underlined the necessity of having a strong pipeline of fast bowlers, especially as the squad prepares for the challenging circumstances expected for the Border-Gavaskar series in Australia later this year.
"Mayank has shown what he is capable of, but we need to be cautious with him. He has dealt with several injuries in the past, so we don't want to rush him. We'll monitor him daily and gradually build up his workload with the red ball. Our aim is to develop him progressively rather than throwing him straight into international cricket,” Rohit said in the press conference on Tuesday.
The inclusion of emerging talents such as Harshit Rana, Nitesh Kumar Reddy, and Mayank Yadav as Travelling Reserves represents a strategic move toward future investment.
"We have seen potential in them. They haven't played much red-ball cricket, but we want to groom them and bring them closer to the team in a short period. They've shown they have some ability as well," Rohit noted.
"We wanted to keep them close because we are thinking of taking them to Australia. It's important to monitor their workloads and gradually build them up to see what they can offer. We want to create bench strength, especially with fast bowlers. We have 8 or 9 options, not just 3 or 4. Like we have multiple options in batting, we want the same depth with our bowlers," the skipper further added.
India still has three Tests at home to win against New Zealand and prime themselves for ICC World Test Championship (WTC 2025) final qualification. After this series, India will tour Australia for a five-Test series starting November 22.
(PTI inputs)
