T20 World Cup 2022: Jasprit Bumrah absence is a BIG loss, admits Rahul Dravid after defeat in 3rd T20I

Asked about the promotion of Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant in the batting order, Rahul Dravid said that it was an opportunity to give these guys some time in the middle.

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Team India head coach Rahul Dravid on Tuesday said that team will definitely miss the services of Jasprit Bumrah in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 but added that it’s an opportunity for someone else to stand up in the absence of premier pacer in Australia. India were dealt a massive blow going into the T20 World Cup 2022 with Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of the tournament with a back injury on Monday. The decision was taken following a detailed assessment after he was ruled out of the South Africa T20Is.

“Bumrah’s absence is a big loss, he’s been a great player but it happens, it’s an opportunity for someone else to stand up. We will miss him, we will miss his personality around the group for sure,” said Dravid in the post-match presentation after the third T20I, which India lost by 49 runs against South Africa.

Asked about the promotion of Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant in the batting order, Dravid said that it was an opportunity to give these guys some time in the middle. “I think today was an opportunity to give these guys some batting. It is tough on guys like Dinesh and Rishabh who don’t get too many hits in the middle. I felt they were batting really well at one moment, had they played longer we might have got closer,” he said.

“I feel batting at 6, it’s always tough when you have to bat just 5-10 balls, so it’s always nice to get a few balls under their belt like they did today. I feel the way Harshal and the rest of the lower order batted was also really good,” he added.

That Winning Feeling!

The @ImRo45-led #TeamIndia lift the trophy as they win the T20I series 2-1 against South Africa. #INDvSA | @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/9he7Ts1Wq7

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 4, 2022

The coach was pleased with the overall result in the back to back home T20I series against Australia and South Africa. “I think it’s good to get the right results in both these home series wins. In this format of the game, you need to have the rub of the green go our way, which didn’t happen in the Asia Cup,” he added.

Talking about India’s aggressive batting approach, the 49-year old said it was a conscious decision after the last T20 World Cup. “We’ve made a decision after the last T20 World Cup where we sat down as a group and decided to play more positively. We believe we have the quality as a group to play more aggressively, we`ve been able to do that without being bowled out too often,” he said.

The former India captain also had a message for fans ahead of the World Cup. “We are going to do our best, we`ve really worked hard and we can just hope for the best. In tournaments like those, you need to play really well but we need a bit of luck as well,” he said.

“We hope to bring smiles to people’s faces. I think since crowds have been allowed into stadiums, we’ve got great support everywhere we’ve gone and the boys are really encouraged by that support. We’ll have that in Australia as well, we’ll try our best,” he added.

(with IANS inputs)