Skipper Rohit Sharma has backed the struggling Bhuvneshwar Kumar to come out of the difficult phase he’s going through. Bhuvneshwar’s disappointing show with the ball has been a major reason behind India’s recent T20I losses, but Rohit seems to have unwavering faith in the senior pacer.

According to Rohit, Bhuvneshwar needs to be given some space, which could enable him to work his way back to prime form. “It’s important that we give Bhuvi that space, given the quality that he brings to the side.

“We know that he’s had more good days than bad ones over the years. We’ve been working on some plans and hopefully, we can give him more options to bowl at the death. And then he’ll be as good as he was before,” Rohit said in Sunday’s news conference after India’s six-wicket win over Australia in the third and final T20I in Hyderabad. In spite of his woeful run, Bhuvneshwar is not short on confidence, the captain believes.

“It’s time for us to show that faith in him and keep backing his skillset.

“From our side, we’re trying to work out the things we can do because when you’re bowling at the death, you can’t be predictable. You need to have options to bowl on both sides of the ground and set the field accordingly.

“And for someone with the experience of Bhuvi, it’ll be easy for him to grasp all that knowledge,” Rohit explained. Rohit also backed Harshal Patel who, returning after a long injury layoff, had a tough time in the T20Is against Australia. “We won’t judge Harshal on the basis of how he has performed in this series. We know his quality.”

Shami & Hooda out

Mohammed Shami is yet to recover from Covid-19 and has been ruled out of the T20Is versus South Africa. He had missed the series against Australia too. The pacer has not travelled to Thiruvananthapuram, the venue for the first game.

Umesh Yadav, who was a replacement for Shami, will continue to be with the team. Deepak Hooda, who missed the last T20I against Australia because of a back injury, will travel to the National Cricket Academy and also miss the South Africa series. Shreyas Iyer will be his replacement. Bengal’s Shahbaz Ahmed will also join the side since Hardik Pandya will also be at the NCA for “conditioning-related work”. (Our Special Correspondent)