Dharamsala: Jasprit Bumrah's selection in the South Africa-bound Test squad is a lesson for all youngsters that hardwork always pays off, said India's stand-in limited overs skipper Rohit Sharma.
A limited overs regular, Bumrah earned his maiden call-up in the Indian Test team as the fifth specialist pacer, who is expected to add variety with his ability to bowl yorkers.
"It is a great boost for him (Burmrah) to be a part of the Test team. He is looking forward to it. For a while, he was wanting to be the part of the Test team. It is all the reward for what he has done in the ODI format and the T20 format," Rohit said when asked to comment about his IPL teammate.
"And over the last year or so, how he has improved himself, on his bowling and fitness as well. It is a lesson for many cricketers that if you put in the hard yards, you will get rewarded. And Bumrah has been rewarded for the things he has done in the past few years," Rohit was effusive in his praise.
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Bumrah is considered as one of the most revered death bowlers in the world currently and his skipper feels it is his ability to come up with new strategies in a difficult situation that makes him so successful.
"He has played with me for MI and I have only seen him grow every game. Every series that he has played he has come up new strategies, new plans. It is good to see he has matured as a bowler now," Rohit said.
"He understands what he needs to do and what team expects out of him. He is a very focused guy, very disciplined in terms of his work ethic. This is what is giving him the results on the field."
"He had a good month and a half time off and he went to NCA, worked on his body again and rejuvenated, he looks a lot fresher now. Hopefully, he can do the job for us what he has been doing in the past few months or so."
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In absence of regular captain Virat Kohli, Rohit has his job cut out to instill confidence in the younger members of the side.
"It is important to give these guys fair amount of games before they prove themselves. It is important they get enough games and gain confidence," said Rohit.
"There are guys like Shreyas (Iyer), Manish (Pandey), Kedar (Jadhav) and (senior pro) like Dinesh, who haven't got enough games on the trot.
"As a part of the team management, we want to make sure that they get 'N' (certain) number of games continuously and then it is up to them what they do with that opportunity," he spoke like an elder statesman of the team.
"They completely understand that they need to perform as there is a lot of competition in the middle-order. In fact everywhere, and they have to grab the opportunity and make it to the 11. We don't want to put any pressure and make sure that they don?t carry any burden when they walk out to the field," he added.
