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The 2022 ICC T20 World Cup will kick off in just a day's time in Australia and before the marquee tournament gets underway, all 16 captains addressed a press conference on October 15 (Saturday). Answering various queries, captains gave an update on their squad while also speaking about the preparedness of their respective teams. Team India captain Rohit Sharma was blunt as always while answering the questions from reporters.
When quizzed about how his team has been pegged back by injuries to star players like Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit switched to focus on bench strength rather than dwelling on things that are uncontrollable.
"Injuries are a part and parcel of the sport. Nothing can be done about it. Our focus was always on creating a strong bench strength," the Indian captain said during the press conference.
"We can't show much disappointment over the injuries that happened. We can hope the current players do well and keep motivating them. Already played two practice games here, we still have two games to prepare," he added.
The Men in Blue will be without their spearhead Bumrah in the upcoming T20 World Cup. The right-arm pacer's injury is indeed a major jolt to India's chances of ending their ICC trophy drought and Rohit didn't mince words while commenting on his star bowler's absence.
"As far as Bumrah is concerned, he has done well for us. You can't do anything about injuries. We talked to specialists. Bumrah is just 27-28. He has a lot of cricket in himself. The World Cup is important but his career is important. There's a lot of cricket for him in future and he will win us many games then. But of course, we will miss him," Rohit continued.
Bumrah has been replaced by veteran pacer Mohammed Shami, who himself hasn't played a lot of cricket in the recent past. Having said that, Shami has a ton of experience in competing in high-octane matches and tournaments.
"It was unfortunate that Shami got COVID. He spent some time in his farm. He had to go (to) NCA (National Cricket Academy) and spend some time there and worked really hard. But things look good now," Rohit said.
India, who won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup, haven't tasted success in ICC tournaments since 2013 and there is a ton of expectations from the current senior men's side to end the trophy drought Down Under.
The Men in Blue have already played two warm-up games, winning one and losing another, and they will now play two ICC-organised practice matches ahead of their World Cup opener against Pakistan in Melbourne on October 23.
