Melbourne [Australia], December 24 (ANI): Ahead of the fourth Test against Australia at Melbourne, the Boxing Day Test, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma expressed faith in the Indian bowling attack, particularly pacer Mohammed Siraj, to deliver solid performances for the remainder of the series, saying that they have shown a great attitude and that is what matters.
As the series is level at 1-1 with two matches left, the role of India’s top bowlers becomes even more important in taking 20 wickets. While Jasprit Bumrah (21 wickets at an average of 10.90 with two five-wicket hauls) is levels above all, Siraj (13 wickets at an average of 23.92 with a four-fer), Harshit Rana (four wickets at an average of 50.75 in two Tests) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (three wickets in three matches at an average of 41.00) have not been at their lethal best. In the case of Rana and Nitish, it is the inexperience causing them to leak runs.
Speaking ahead of the match in the pre-match presser about bowlers, Rohit said that as a captain, one’s intention is to bring the best out of everyone and in-form players are encouraged to make the most of their purple patch. He also acknowledged that aside from Bumrah, other bowlers do know that there is a need to step up.
“When you are captaining the team, it is not the easiest job in the world. You try and come out here with that intent of trying to get the best out of everyone. Nobody comes here not to perform or not to do well,” said Rohit.
“When somebody is in form, we say that they have to make the most of that form. Bumrah is certainly making the most of it. Siraj and the other guys who are bowling around him obviously know that they need to step up and try and get the job done as well,” he added.
Rohit said that the bowlers have been trying really hard to be troublesome for Aussies, but luck has not been in favour as certain “opportunities” have also gone down.
“Those things can happen. For me as a captain, my messaging to them is very plain and simple. Keep running in hard and keep doing what you have been doing. They have done the job in the past. It is not that they cannot do it now,” he added.
The skipper said that it is important to instill confidence in players and make them feel a special part of the team and he has a leader has faith in his bowling attack.
“Anyone can have tough days, tough games, tough series. But it does not mean that they are not good enough to perform at this level. It happened so that in these two or three games, they have not been able to get those big numbers. But that is okay. It happens. But I have enough confidence and faith in them. The attitude is what matters to me. And Siraj has really shown great attitude on this tour so far,” concluded the skipper.
Bumrah and Co will be aiming to help India launch a big comeback in the MCG Test and take an all-important series lead with ICC World Test Championship final at stake.
India’s squad for fourth and fifth Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal, Tanush Kotian. (ANI)
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