With Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Nursing Injuries And Hardik Pandya Not Bowling, A Test Debut Beckons For Navdeep Saini In Australia
Published - 16 Oct 2020, 08:07 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:35 AM
The Indian cricket team will travel to Australia for a full series consisting of six white-ball internationals (3 ODIs + 3 T20Is) and the longstanding list of their pace bowlers is likely to be a great headache for the selection committee and the team management.
The Indian contingent is likely to be without ace fast bowlers in Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and all-rounder Hardik Pandya for the three-month-long tour.
While Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is suffering from injuries to hip and thigh, is unlikely to be fit for the tour, Ishant Sharma is also a doubtful starter due to an injury in his rib-cage. With the duo likely to be unavailable, speedster Navdeep Saini has emerged as a likely candidate to make his Test debut Down Under and serve as a bowling partner to Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
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Hardik Pandya’s body can’t take the longer version at the moment- source
Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, hasn’t bowled in the ongoing IPL post his return from a back injury.
“His [Pandya’s] body can’t take the longer version at the moment, he is fine for the shorter versions though,” a source in the board said.
With Pandya not bowling, questions have galore on his status as an all-rounder. It is, however, learned that the Baroda cricketer is working on new action and is being monitored by Mumbai Indian director, Zaheer Khan.
Meanwhile, the selection committee hasn’t yet announced the squads for the limited-overs and Test series for the Australian tour as the BCCI is still waiting for an official itinerary from Cricket Australia.
The Indian Cricket Team will directly travel Down Under from the UAE, with Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari and the support-staff-led by Ravi Shastri set to undergo the squad post the culmination of a six-day quarantine in Dubai.
