Jharkhand coach says bench testing will help state cricket long term

Jharkhand coach Ratan Kumar says the absence of Kumar Kushagra and Shikhar Mohan will ultimately strengthen the state's cricket despite leaving the Ranji Trophy side short-handed. Kushagra has joined India's T20I squad against New Zealand after Ishan Kishan's injury, while Shikhar Mohan has been called up to India A.

Kumar said Jharkhand must get used to missing players, noting that Mumbai and Karnataka have long coped with similar absences. He added that building a deeper bench is necessary if five players are to represent India or India A regularly.

Shikhar has scored back-to-back hundreds in the current Ranji season after 613 runs at 55.72 last year. Kushagra scored a century against Australia A in September and has shown he can perform in longer formats despite his IPL contract.