IND vs SL: In a major development ahead of the first T20I between India and Sri Lanka, pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been added to the Indian squad for the ODIs against Sri Lanka. The talismanic speedster was out of action due to a back injury since September 2022. He was reportedly declared fit earlier but the selectors were cautious and did not include him in the squad earlier.
BCCI informed about the pacer's return by releasing a statement. "The All-India Senior Selection Committee has included pacer Jasprit Bumrah in India’s ODI squad for the upcoming Mastercard 3-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. Bumrah was out of cricketing action since September 2022 and was also ruled out of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup due to a back injury. The pacer has undergone rehabilitation and has been declared fit by the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He will be joining the Team India ODI squad soon," BCCI's release read.
Jasprit Bumrah was out of action for India's crucial tournaments including Asia Cup 2022 and T20 World Cup 2022 due to a back injury. Bumrah suffered a back injury during India's tour of England in an ODI game. Subsequently, he was ruled out of Asia Cup 2022. The pacer was back in the team for the home T20I series against Australia and South Africa. However, the Indian pacer played only 2 games out of 6 against these two sides in September. He was not part of the 1st T20I against Australia but featured in the next two games. Bumrah also missed the first T20I against South Africa and was thereafter ruled out of the remaining T20Is against South Africa and the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. He underwent rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Bumrah was declared fit at the time of the squad announcement for the series against Sri Lanka but the selectors were cautious and did not wanted to rush him back.
The Indian Cricket team facing Sri Lanka in the T20I series will be a youngster-loaded side as a few senior pros will be absent. Players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah will return for the ODI series. The first T20I between the two sides will be played on January 3.
India's squad for ODIs vs Sri Lanka:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (VC), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.
India's squad for T20I vs Sri Lanka:
Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar.
