"Just As You Set Playing XI, Someone Gets Injured": Ex-India Star's Blunt Verdict Ahead Of Sri Lanka Tests
The Indian cricket team has been dealing with injury crisis since the resumption of international cricket following the Indian Premier League 2026.
- India have been dealing with injury crisis since the resumption of international cricket following IPL 2026
- "Just as you set a playing XI, someone gets injured, and then you have to change it," said Deep Dasgupta
- "If we compare the preparations for Sri Lanka with the Ireland and England tours, those were not ideal"
The Indian cricket team has been dealing with injury crisis since the resumption of international cricket following the Indian Premier League 2026. Players like Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana and Varun Chakravarthy are already out of action in limited-overs cricket. Meanwhile, the likes of Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar are still recovering from their respective recent injuries. To add to India's troubles, Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, starting on August 15. The ace pacer has been dealing with a knee issue and failed to recover in time, forcing the BCCI selectors to announce his replacement for the red-ball games in Sri Lanka.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Deep Dasgupta highlighted the challenges the team has been facing of late. Shubman Gill and Co. have got a long gap to prepare for the Sri Lanka series, having played their last international game on July 26, a T20I against Zimbabwe. Dasgupta believes this is the ideal preparation time for the team.
"In my opinion, this is a dream preparation for Team India. Now, how they use this time is an entirely different thing. If we compare the preparations with the Ireland and England tours, those were not ideal; it was like firefighting. Players were getting injured, players were unavailable. So, as a coach, you are not able to prepare anything. Just as you set a playing XI, someone gets injured, and then you have to change it. It will be rare for India to get 10-15 days to prepare for a series. It might not be practically possible to get 10-15 days before every series," he said on his YouTube channel.
"Gautam Gambhir will prefer preparation camps like this because he is actually getting to coach players. Just a day or two before a match, you are not coaching, you are managing players. I will not be surprised if the Indian coaching staff are really happy because this is a chance where they can actually coach players rather than manage them," the ex-India player added.
India Cricket Team
Gautam Gambhir