'In the last one year, Bumrah is one player we missed a lot,' says India's bowling coach after Test win vs WI

India has missed Jasprit Bumrah for the past year, and with two major multi-team tournaments coming up in Asia Cup and the home World Cup later in 2023, his presence in the squad will make a difference. Team India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey shared a similar opinion following India’s win in the first Test against West Indies in Dominica.

He said several rounds of talks surrounding workload management for the bowlers are already happening within the camp, and the board will look into giving required rest to key players considering the jam-packed schedule going forward.

“If we look at the last 1-1.5 years, Bumrah is one player we missed a lot. As of now, there haven’t been any discussions on who will play white ball and who will play red ball, but going forward, we have to give breaks to individual bowlers. The moment we give a break to a bowler, we can bring another one, which will create bench strength,” India’s bowling coach said when asked about giving rest to players.

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Bumrah - the ace seamer, has been out of action since September last year due to a back injury. Upon getting under the knife early in 2023, Bumrah is undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, and as latest reports suggest, he is slowly regaining complete fitness.

Though it remains unclear when he will return in the reckoning for selection, Team India brought in several newcomers in the meantime, with mostly all getting good chances.

“A lot of other bowlers, like Mukesh, who have done well in Ranji cricket, and bowlers who have been also part of the team like Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh, there will be an opportunity to work with them,” Mhambrey added.

‘Mukesh is an interesting talent’

Mukesh Kumar is one player who rose through the ranks, and thanks to his consistent performances in the Ranji Trophy and IPL 2023, he keeps getting picked, and Mhambrey feels it’s about time before he breaks into Indian XI across format.

“He is a very interesting talent, one thing is he is coming on the back of a lot of hard work and performance. He knows the value of himself. We have been following his performance for the last couple of years and how he has been performing in the Ranji Trophy,” Mhambrey said.

Mhambrey added India need bench strength, and Mukesh can help the team click this box.

“This is my opportunity to work with him and create bench strength. We have Siraj now, who is bowling well, and to supplement him, we have Shami and Bumrah there, and we need to create a bench strength, even beyond that. It is a good opportunity for Mukesh to sit with the people here talk to them, and learn. There are a lot of senior bowlers here for him to interact with,” Mhambrey added.

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