NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India captain Rohit Sharma acknowledges bowling in the death overs remains a concern for them but backed Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel to regain their mojo ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia next month.
Even a 2-1 series victory against 20-overs world champions Australia could not gloss over India’s struggles to contain the runs in the final overs which also hurt their Asia Cup campaign earlier this month.
Bhuvneshwar, known for his clever bowling particularly in the final overs, has looked a shadow of himself in recent times though remains part of the World Cup squad.
“We know that he’s had more good days than bad days in the last so many years,” Rohit said after India clinched the series against Australia on Sunday.
“Of late it’s been not the kind of performance that he would want, but that can happen to any of the bowlers.
“I don’t think he’s short on confidence. You can have bad games but what is really important is how you come back from those bad games.
“We want him to come back as quickly as possible.”
Rohit was equally patient with Harshal who, returning from a rib injury, could not do justice to his reputation as a crafty late-overs bowler.
The 31-year-old bowled a combined eight overs, bleeding 99 runs for a single wicket in the series against Australia.
“He missed cricket for close to two months. Whenever a bowler goes through that injury phase and makes a comeback, it’s not easy,” Rohit said.
“We have not judged him by how he has performed in these three games because we know his quality, what he can do with the ball. He has bowled some really tough overs in the past.
“You want players to keep improving and we can see that happening. I’m pretty sure he is not too far from his best.”
