Rohit Sharma needs to re-adjust to playing the new ball, feels Shane Bond

Former New Zealand cricketer Shane Bond feels that the players will have a tough time in quickly adapting to the English conditions in the upcoming Champions Trophy this year. There is only a 10-day gap between the IPL finals and the coveted ICC mega event. Bond, who is currently working with Mumbai Indians in the IPL in the capacity of the bowling coach, feels the tournament will be a tough one for the bowlers.

In a recent column for the official ICC website, Shane Bond noted that the bowlers in the IPL do not bowl long spells in the tournament since there is a condensed schedule. However, they need to get used to the challenge of bowling long spells in the upcoming Champions Trophy.

“Because of the condensed schedules in the IPL, and the heat and the travel, the bowlers haven’t been bowling a lot in the nets. Going into the ICC Champions Trophy, where the top bowlers will be expected to bowl their quota of 10 overs, will pose a unique kind of challenge in terms of the bowlers not having had enough of a workload. It is important that it is not just your skills that are up to speed, you need to have had miles in the legs as well,” he quoted.

Commenting on the teams who would be specifically affected by the cricket action, Bond pointed out India and Australia to be the ones. He believes that the two teams have been playing a lot of cricket in the recent times and could result in fatigue. “They will desire a mental break of a couple of weeks going into the ICC Champions Trophy,” quipped the former pace bowler.

Pakistan in a happy spot

Shane Bond singled out Pakistan as the team to be in the happy spot at the moment. Citing the reason for the same, Bond remarked that they had good international cricket practice at their disposal whilst other teams were involved in the IPL.

“Pakistan has just completed a Test series in the West Indies, so the bowlers who will be going to England are in a good space in terms of value. But it is what the players out of the Test squad are doing that will be crucial,” he said.

Finch, Rohit need to re-adjust

Bond looked particularly worried about the opening batsmen who have been batting in the middle order in the IPL. He noted that Rohit Sharma is the Indian opener who bats in middle order for Mumbai Indians. Similarly, Aaron Finch is the opener for the Australian team but batted in the middle-order for the Gujarat Lions. Hence, these two players will have to re-align their playing styles in the Champions Trophy.

“Rohit Sharma has been batting in the middle-order for us and Aaron Finch for Gujarat Lions, and both of them will need to re-adjust to playing the new ball, in English conditions, when they open the batting for their respective countries,” he conceded.