“We Aren’t Much Bothered,” Says Captain Hardik Pandya Over Bumrah’s Absence In Indian Squard

The Indian Cricket team will be playing their 1st ODI match against Australia today. In the upcoming three-match series against Australia, the Indian team will not have the services of prominent players like Jasprit Bumrah and Shreyas Iyer. Bumrah has been out of the team for a long time, but Iyer was in India’s squad for the fourth and final Test match against Australia in Ahmedabad. The right-arm pacer last played for India in September 2022. In the past few years, he has struggled with a back injury, which forced him to withdraw from the team once more.

Hardik Pandya on Jaspreet Bumrah

In order to be available in time for the World Cup 2023, Bumrah recently underwent back surgery in New Zealand. The team, according to Hardik Pandya, is not “much bothered” about his absence.

Pandya said: “Jassi (Jasprit Bumrah) hasn’t been around for quite some time now. The bowling group which we have has been doing a pretty decent job. We back them. They’re all experienced now, the amount of games they have played.

“Obviously having Jassi makes a massive difference which we all know what he brings, but to be very honest, we aren’t much bothered because the guys who have taken the role from Jassi have been quite confident and they have been doing really well. It gives us good confidence to go ahead and not worry about what else we can do,”

Today, Hardik Pandya, who is leading the team India from the front, will make his ODI captaincy debut. The three ODI matches will be played at Mumbai, Vishakapatnam, and Chennai on the 17th, 19th, and 22nd of March.

Jaspreet Bumrah will also not be a part of the Indian Premier League 2023 which will begin on March 31st.

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India’s Squad for the first ODI 

Hardik Pandya (c), Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishen, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Shami, Axar Patel, Umran Malik, Suryakumar Yadav, Umran Malik, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul, and Shubman Gill.

Australian squad for the first ODI

Steve Smith (c), Alex Carey, Jhye Richardson, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Sean Abbott, Josh Inglis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Marcus Stoinis, Jhye Richardson, Travis Head, and Josh Inglis.