IND vs SL series: Rohit Sharma and Co are injury-hit, yet strong!

Injuries are turning out to be doubleedged for Team India On one hand they are missing out on key players but on the other it enables them to try out more and more players to widen their pool in preparation for the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia later this year Two inform players Suryakumar Yadav SKY and Deepak Chahar were injured during the last T20 game against West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday Chahar had pulled his hamstring after bowling just 11 balls and did not travel to LucknowSuryakumar fractures thumbSuryakumar on the other hand was hopeful that the injury he sustained while fielding in Kolkata was a minor one Itrsquos only when he had an XRay of his injured thumb at a local hospital here on Tuesday it revealed that he had a fracture and was out of the threematch T20I series against Sri Lanka which begins with the first game at the Ekana stadium here todayThe injures as well as the rest given to players like Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have opened a window of opportunity for players waiting in the wings Although the Indian thinktank headed by Rahul Dravid has reportedly zeroed in on the core group for the T20 World Cup itrsquos always good to have a larger pool to fall back on in case of injuries or loss of form Talking to the media on the eve of the first ODI Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said that though injuries are a setback for the team as well as the player concerned it also gives someone else a chance to fill in ldquoInjuries though a part and parcel of the game are never easy on the players and the team Look at SKYrsquos freak injury He was standing in the slips and was struck on the thumb He is crestfallen at a time when he was in top form being the Man of the Series against the West Indies He was really looking forward to building on his scoring spree On the other hand his injury has opened up opportunities for the guys waiting in the wings to move in and prove their mettlerdquo Rohit saidThe good news for India is that vicecaptain Jasprit Bumrah is back with the team after being rested for the West Indies series and allrounder Ravindra Jadeja is fit again after a long injuryrelated layoffBumrah returnsWhile Bumrah will straightaway walkin for Chahar it will be interesting to see if Jadeja is played in the opening game as he has been away for long and lacks match practice If he is preferred one of the wrist spinnersmdashRavi Bishnoi or Yuzvendra Chahalmdashwill have to make way for him Despite the injuries and rested players India are overwhelming favourites against Sri Lanka who are in the process of rebuilding their team and recently lost their fivegame T20I series 14 in AustraliaIndia after whitewashing West Indies in both ODIs and T20I have climbed to the No1 spot in ICC T20 rankings and would be aiming to maintain their dominance in the leadup to the T20 World Cup