Sports

'Want to keep bowlers fresh for all formats'

PTI

India's bowling coach Bharath Arun on Tuesday made it clear that Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav are first choice for Test matches while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are preferred option for limited overs format. "If you look at Shami and Yadav, they are your number one Test bowlers. And Bhuveshwar (Kumar) and (Jasprit) Bumrah have been exceptional and posses all the skills to do well in ODI competitions," Arun said.

"With the volume of cricket India is going to play, it is very important that we have pool of bowlers to choose from so that they remain fresh for every form of the game that we play," explained Arun.

Keeping in mind that Umesh and Shami will have a role to play in red-ball cricket, the team management wanted the Test bowlers to play Ranji Trophy.

"We encourage them (the bowlers) to play first class cricket. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav have been playing first-class cricket and Shami has done pretty well for Bengal (10 wickets from 2 games)," Arun said.