Skipper throws weight behind Bhuvneshwar, Harshal

HYDERABAD: India skipper Rohit Sharma has backed pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel to hit form ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Following a disappointing Asia Cup campaign, India had something to cheer as it won the three-match home series against Australia 2-1 after clinching a six-wicket victory in the third game here on Sunday. However, Bhuvneshwar and Harshal, who made a comeback from injury, leaked runs in the series, ending with economy rates of more than 12.

“It is important that we give him (Bhuvneshwar) the space because when you have a guy like him and the quality he brings… we know that he has had more good days than bad days for many years. We have been working on some plans. Hopefully, we can give him more options to bowl in the death. Then, he will be as good as he was before,” said Rohit, adding that the pace bowler is not short on confidence despite the bad run of form.

“It is time for us to show the faith in him and keep backing his skill-set. From our side, we are trying to work out what can be done, because we cannot be predictable when we are bowling in the death. We need to have options to bowl on both sides of the grounds and set the fields accordingly. For someone with his experience, it will be easy to grasp the knowledge,” explained Rohit.

Talking about Harshal, Rohit said that the death over specialist is not being judged on his below-par performances in the Australia series. “Without a doubt, he is an important player for us. Coming back after an injury is never easy. He missed cricket for close to two months. So, we have not judged him on how he performed in these three matches, because we know his quality,” stressed the captain.

“He has bowled some really tough overs for us and his franchise (Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL). It is important to keep showing that faith. I am sure that he is trying to rectify the mistakes and that he is not far from his best.”

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It is time for us to show the faith in him (Bhuvneshwar) and keep backing his skill-set. We have not judged Harshal on how he performed in these three matches Rohit Sharma, India captain