Rohit Sharma aims to strengthen India's fast-bowling lineup

Rohit Sharma is determined to make the Indian cricket team injury-resistant by focusing on building a strong bench strength, especially in the fast-bowling department. He believes that having eight or nine players who are capable of stepping into the first XI at any time will ensure that the team is always prepared and competitive.

"We want to create a bench strength where tomorrow if anything happens to anyone, we are not worried, and we don't want to be worried or too heavily reliant on a few individuals. That's not the right thing to do," Rohit said on the eve of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru. "We want to look at the future at the same time, try and make sure that we get the right guys in as well.

"We want to create guys where even if there are injuries, we have got someone to quickly step in and take that role.

"It's not about three or four options. We want to try and do that like, you know, when it comes to batting, there are a lot of options. We want to create the same with the bowlers as well."

Along with the 15-member squad for the three-match series against New Zealand, India are also carrying Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav and Nitish Kumar Reddy as travelling reserves. Mayank and Reddy recently made their international debuts in the T20Is against Bangladesh recently, while Rana was an unused member of that squad.

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Prasidh Krishna was also initially named as a travelling reserve for the New Zealand Tests, but he has reportedly suffered another injury setback. During Karnataka's opening fixture of the new Ranji Trophy season, against Madhya Pradesh in Indore, he bowled only eight of the 140 overs that his side sent down.

"You know, the reason we wanted to keep them close to us was because we are thinking of them to take them to Australia," Rohit said. The five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins on November 22. "We just want to monitor them and see their workload. We have seen some talent in them. I understand that they have not played a lot of red-ball cricket, but when you see a talent, you want to try and groom them.

Harshit Rana, 22, has played nine first-class matches and picked up 36 wickets

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PTI

"You want to try and bring them as close to the team as possible. And in a short period of time, they have shown they have some ability as well. So, we want to keep them with the team and see whether they will be ready for international cricket or not, especially Test cricket, because Test cricket is a different ball game compared to white ball cricket. So, we want to keep them, we want to see what they can offer us, and have more options with us, more than anything else.

"Nitish and Harshit both obviously are quite talented individuals, and in the future obviously they are going to provide a lot of stability to the team. So, just want to see what they are capable of, what they have to offer."

Mayank's rise has been both rapid and eye-catching. He burst on the scene during IPL 2024, bowling at speeds of 155kph, and accurately at that, for Lucknow Super Giants. He could only play four matches though with an abdominal issue keeping him sidelined. Still, India had seen enough to fast-track him into their T20 side against Bangladesh earlier this month, where he picked up four wickets from three games while consistently pushing the speed gun into the high 140kph.

"Mayank obviously has shown what he can do, but we just want to be very careful with him, he has had a lot of injuries in the past," Rohit said. "So, we want to progress him, not rapidly, we want to just see every day how he feels.

"We are trying to build his workloads with the red ball. He has not played a lot of red-ball cricket at all. So, for us, it's important that we try and build them gradually, rather than just getting them into international cricket straight away.

"T20 format is such where you can get a lot of these guys and see what they are capable of and if they can handle the international exposure. But Test cricket is a different ball game. The pressure is different. You have to sustain for five days, that's the most important thing. So, we are trying to monitor them and see, you know, what they can offer to us."

Rohit: Bumrah has always been in our leadership group

The most important cog in India's fast-bowling line-up is the leader of the pack Jasprit Bumrah. The 30-year-old was recently named vice-captain for the series against New Zealand.

There is a chance Bumrah might step in as captain in the early Tests against Australia next month with Rohit's participation in doubt owing to personal reasons.

"He's always been part of that leadership group and one of the experienced players as well," Rohit said of Bumrah. "He's played a lot of cricket and I've played a lot of cricket with him. He understands the game pretty well. He's got a good head on his shoulders.

"Tactically, I can't say much because he's not captained much. But, when you talk to him, he understands the game. He understands what is required. When you are in a situation where you need a leader to step up, I think Bumrah will be one of them. In the past, he's always been in our leadership group.

"So, it's probably the right thing to just have him around and speak to the bowlers and internally discuss how to take the team forward."

Rohit remained tight-lipped about the India XI for the opening Test against New Zealand stating that they will take a call once they reach the venue on match day. It has been raining relentlessly in Bengaluru over the last few days, forcing India to cancel their training session on the eve of the game, while New Zealand were left to train indoors.

"It all depends on the conditions now. Even today, there has been a lot of rain. The pitch is under the covers. So, we want to take that call when we come here in the morning tomorrow," Rohit said. "And again, it depends on match-to-match, what sort of pitch we play on. Based on that, we want to decide what is going to be our best playing XI. We keep our options open for playing three seamers and three spinners as well."