India vs New Zealand Tests | Want to create a group of pacers and have plenty of options: Rohit

Captain Rohit Sharma is seen during a practice session on the eve of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru on October 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

India Test captain Rohit Sharma threw his weight behind the four travelling reserves — Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna.

The four cricketers could be taken to the five-Test series in Australia next month, Rohit said.

“The reason we wanted to keep them close to us was because we are thinking of taking them to Australia. We want to monitor them and see their workload. A lot of these guys have had injuries in the past, so it is important that we try and build them up. We want to create a group of fast bowlers where we have eight or nine options, not three or four options,” Rohit said at a press conference here on the eve of the first India-New Zealand Test.

Prasidh, however, bowled only eight overs for Karnataka in its Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh at Indore a few days ago.

Not rushing Shami

Rohit explained that it would be wrong to rush an injured Mohammed Shami into action. If he is not fully fit and ready for the rigours of red-ball cricket, Shami will not travel to Australia, Rohit said.

“It is very difficult for us to make a call on him (Shami). He recently had a setback. He had a swelling in his knee, which was quite unusual. Just when he was getting close to 100 per cent fitness, he had this swelling. That has put him back a little bit in his recovery,” Rohit said.

“He is working with the physios and doctors at NCA. We want him to be 100 percent fit. We don’t want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia. That will not be the right decision. He has not played cricket for a year. It is quite tough for a fast bowler (to return to action), having missed so much cricket.

“We want to give him enough time to recover. He is supposed to play a couple of games before he plays international cricket. We will see where he is at after this New Zealand series, and then take a call at what stage of the Australia tour he will be fit.”