India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has confirmed that there is no injury scare as far as captain Rohit Sharma is concerned. Doeschate said that Rohit knows how to manage the issue.
"He's all right. You can see he's batting a little bit further than earlier. It's an injury he's had before, so he knows how to manage it really well," Doeschate told the reporters ahead of the clash against New Zealand.
Rohit had a hamstring issue while taking a catch in the high voltage match against Pakistan on February 23. When asked about whether the team management would look to rest a few players ahead of the semifinals, Doeschate made it clear that it is important to keep the momentum going and play with best available players.
"We've had two pretty tough training sessions, so that's been the preparation. In terms of the bench strength, I think the priority is making sure that we have our best guys available and fully fit for the second game (semifinal on March 4)," Doeschate said.
"But we also don't want to rest them for another two days. So to get that balance right, we might just try to share the bowling out a little bit. But we obviously want to win against New Zealand as well.
"It's important that we keep that momentum going. And obviously to top the group as well. So the balance of those two things I just mentioned for the selection to be thought about," he added.
Managing the workload
The former Netherlands cricketer also talked about how the long rest between two group stage games has been helpful for players. He also pointed out that there is a possibility main bowlers may not bowl their full quota of overs against the Kiwis
"They've had a lot of rest now. But it's how you back the two games up. So if all the seamers are going to bowl 10 overs, and then say we bowl second in the first game, we're bowling 36 hours later, we're bowling first, that's quite a workload.
"So that's what I was alluding to. One of the options is to make sure the guys don't bowl their full quota of overs, if that opportunity allows itself. But we're ready to manage that in the field and try and keep the guys as fresh as possible for the first and the final," he added.
Both India and New Zealand have qualified for the semifinals after beating co-hosts Pakistan and Bangladesh. A win will ensure one of them will finish on the top of the table.
