India suffered a five-wicket loss to Windies in the second T20I, as the series is locked 1-1. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma supports the youngsters and has urged them not to panic.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said he would continue to back the young bowlers and give them opportunities to showcase their aptitudes, especially during the crunch moments of the game. His comments come amid his decision to bring in young pacer Avesh Khan (1/31) to bowl the final over of the low-scoring second Twenty20 International (T20I) against the Windies at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis, on Monday, despite the experienced senior seamer Bhuvneswar Kumar (0/12). Rohit affirmed that he wanted to test the depth of Indian bowling, eyeing the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
"It's all about giving opportunity. We know Bhuvneshwar and what he brings to the table, but if you don't allow Avesh or Arshdeep, you will never find out what it means to bowl at the death for India. They have done it in the IPL. Just a game. Those guys don't need to panic. They need backing and opportunity," Rohit described after the match.
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Although Rohit senses that the Indian batters failed to apply themselves on a batting-friendly surface in the second T20I, which they lost by five wickets, he remains hopeful of an alacritous reversal. "It was not enough runs on the board for us. We didn't bat well. Pitch was playing quite nicely, but we didn't apply ourselves. But, that can happen," he articulated.
"I have repeatedly said that it won't work out when you try something as a batting group. We will try to see our mistakes and look to correct them," added Rohit. Pacer Obed McCoy wreaked mayhem with the ball, with sharp figures of 6/17, with India scoring 138.
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Rohit praised his side's fighting spirit, especially the bowlers, who dragged the game to the final over. "Proud of the team. Defending a target like that can end in 13-14 overs, or you try to drag it to the last over. The Guys kept fighting. It was important to take wickets. The planning we did, the guys came and executed," he enunciated.
"Happy with bowlers, but there are certain things in the batting we need to look at. I will repeatedly say that we will continue to bat in this fashion because we want to achieve something. The one-off result shouldn't panic. After a loss, we won't change things around," concluded Rohit. The two sides meet on Tuesday in the delayed third T20I at the same venue.
(With inputs from PTI)