With India arriving in Ranchi without pace ace Jasprit Bumrah, premier batter Shubman Gill admitted that fast bowlers have made a significant impact in the five-match series against Ben Stokes’ England. Addressing the traditional press conference in the build-up to the 4th Test against England on Wednesday, former opener Gill opened up about Rohit Sharma’s Team India missing the services of premier pacer Bumrah in the Ranchi decider.
Pacer Bumrah did not travel with his teammates as India touched down in Ranchi on a charter flight yesterday. Confirming Bumrah’s exit later in the evening, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) revealed that India have opted to release the top-ranked bowler from the squad. Bumrah has been rested as part of the workload management. The fast bowler picked up 17 wickets for India in the first three Tests of the five-game series. India are also without former skipper Virat Kohli for the remainder of the Test series.
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‘Like I talked about Virat, if a player in the class of Boom’
Speaking to reporters before the start of the crucial encounter in MS Dhoni’s den, in-form batter Gill highlighted the bowling heroics of pacer Mohammed Siraj while responding to a query about unavailable Bumrah. “Like I talked about Virat bhai, if a player in the class of Boom bhai is not playing, any team will miss him, especially since he leads our fast-bowling attack. But if you look at it, Siraj took four wickets in crucial times in the last match. So, I think, all the pacers have enough experience in Indian conditions, especially bowling reverse swing,” Gill said.
‘Sarfaraz came in and played well’
India’s bench strength was tested in the 3rd Test as the hosts were without wicketkeeper-batter Rahul and batting icon Kohli in Rajkot. India handed Sarfaraz Khan his debut cap in the Rajkot encounter. The Mumbai batter announced his arrival with back-to-back half-centuries in the high-scoring contest. “Virat bhai is not with us for the last three Tests, and yes, the absence of a player of his class makes a bit of difference. But I think Sarfaraz came in and played well. So, I think players are doing well in the opportunities that they are getting,” Gill added.
Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
