Ahead of Team India’s departure for the tour of Sri Lanka on Monday (July 22), chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir addressed a media conference in Mumbai.
During the presser, Agarkar highlighted the importance of adding some new faces to India’s fast-bowling attack to increase their depth. He expects the pacers that are out currently to make a return sometime next month.
“There are a few injuries at the moment. Some of the fast bowlers are out, and we hope they’ll be back playing within the next month,” Agarkar told reporters.
Agarkar also provided update on veteran pacer Mohammad Shami, who is currently recovering from the surgery he underwent to treat his Achilles tendon injury earlier this year.
Shami, who has been out of action since the end of the 2023 World Cup in November, only recently started rolling his arm over in the nets.
Agarkar suggested that the plan is to get him ready ahead of the Bangladesh Test series in September.
“Shami has started to bowl, which is a good sign. The goal is to have him fit by the first Test on September 19th. We need to confirm the timeline with the NCA,” he commented.
The chairman of the selection committee also highlighted that the Indian team might not be playing Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Shami together against Bangladesh as he emphasized the need for more depth in the Indian pace department.
“With so many Tests coming up in India, we may not always play three seamers in the eleven, but we need depth in our squad. Bumrah, Siraj, and Shami have been around for a while, but we need to build depth and explore other options,” he stated.
Agarkar concluded by saying that talks would begin on building up new players after assessing the upcoming first-class season.
“We have some talent and a lot of first-class cricket coming up, so we’ll have the opportunity to build and assess other players. This is a discussion we will begin now,” he remarked.
The white-ball tour of Sri Lanka will mark the beginning of Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as India head coach. He replaced the legendary Rahul Dravid in the high-profile role.
The series, comprising three T20Is and as many ODIs, is slated to get underway on July 27 in Pallekele.
(CricketNext Inputs)
