Feels good to be back, travelling with team: Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah

CHENNAI: India locked horns against Australia in the fifth match of the ODI World Cup 2023 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, before the start of the match Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah said that he feels good to be back after being out from the field due to injury.

While speaking before the toss, Bumrah accepted that he has been out for several months but also said that he feels good now since he has played cricket for the last two months.

The Indian pacer added that the Men in Blue are lucky to play the extravagant tournament in front of their home fans since one doesn't get to play home WCs very often. "I am feeling really good. I have been out for a while but now I have been playing for the last two months, feels good to be back and travelling with the team. It feels great to play in a home WC, you don't get to play home WCs but we are the lucky ones," Jasprit Bumrah said before the toss. The 29-year-old pacer praised the Aussies and said that they have a good side and added that it will be a cracking contest to play against Pat Cummin's side.

Bumrah talked about the warm-up matches being washed out and said that the players tried to relax and refresh during that time. "Australia are a very good side, we played them recently, and it is going to be a cracking contest. The feeling is quite relaxed, we have played a lot of cricket recently, and when the warm-up games were washed out, the players tried to relax and refresh," he added.

"Basically, the preparation stays the same, try and give your best, try to keep things simple and back your strengths, and enjoy the occasion as you don't get to play a lot of WCs. It is starting at 2 o'clock, it is going to be a little hot but we are looking forward to it and hopefully, things go our way," he concluded. At the toss, Australia decided to bat first after winning the toss.

On the other hand, Rohit Sharma confirmed at the toss that star Indian opener Shubman Gill will miss out on their opening match of the ODI World Cup since he has failed to recover from illness.

The Indian skipper also added that Ishan Kishan will replace Gill. "Unfortunately he (Shubman Gill) didn't recover in time, we waited till today morning and he couldn't recover. Ishan comes in to replace him, he will open the batting," Rohit Sharma said at the toss.

Australia playing XI: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey (Wk), Cameron Green, Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.

India playing XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (Wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.