Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s injury a real setback for India: Sachin Tendulkar

“And let’s not forget those runs that Bhuvi scored in England during the last series (2014). He is a decent enough batsman, who could string those partnerships at the back end of the innings. But then, I believe that we still have a lot of quality in our pace department (Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur),” he added.

Another Indian seamer who will be out of action is Jasprit Bumrah. But according to Tendulkar, his absence was felt more in the ODI series. “Bumrah was certainly missed by India in the ODI series during those crucial death overs where he has been a champion bowler. He has started off well in Test cricket and this series is a wonderful opportunity for him. But he is expected to come back during the second Test. So I am hoping for the best,” Tendulkar said.

However, the master-blaster was quick to remind that the absence of Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah in the first Test will not affect the morale of the side and especially skipper Virat Kohli.

Citing the 1997 series against Pakistan, Tendulkar said, “Let me give you an example of my playing days. I was the captain during the 1997 Sahara Cup in Toronto. The Indian team didn’t have Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Anil Kumble. Yet, we beat Pakistan 4-1 (series best remembered for Sourav Ganguly’s four back to back MoM awards). I don’t think we should call India a depleted side as it is being unfair to the others, who will be playing in the series.

“What I am trying to say is that you might just get the best out of your resources in adverse conditions. Just because you don’t have certain key players doesn’t mean that you will have a certain kind of result. It never happens like that in any sport. Accepted that it’s not a great thing to go into a big series without your key player but then you just have to move on and focus on your job ahead,” he concluded.