Team India will be without their pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for the upcoming Test series against Australia. The four-match series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is scheduled to get underway next week (February 9) in Nagpur.
The right-arm pacer has not played any competitive cricket since September last year. His last appearance for Team India came during the T20I series against South Africa before he was sidelined owing to a back injury. Due to the injury, he had to miss the T20 World Cup too.
Last month, he was named in India’s squad for the ODI series against Sri Lanka. However, just a day before the start of the series, he was withdrawn from the team due to a new glute injury.
The BCCI, in its statement, had said that the pacer would need some more time to build bowling resilience. The board had also stated that the decision to withdraw Jasprit Bumrah from the team was taken as a precautionary measure.
Jasprit Bumrah’s comeback date:
While missing Jasprit Bumrah would be a huge blow for Team India, there is a slight chance that the pacer still might play a role in the series. The Times of India has reported that Jasprit Bumrah has finally started bowling in the nets at the National Cricket Academy, where he’s recuperating.
The report added that if everything goes well and the pacer does not experience any other issue, he is likely to return to action for the final two Tests of the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The third Test of the India-Australia series will kick off at Dharamshala from March 1.
Yes, Bumrah has started bowling in the nets. Let’s hope all goes well and he’s declared fit,” the news outlet quoted a source as saying.
The series holds huge importance for Team India. A good performance in the series can help India seal their place in the final of the ICC World Test Championship as well as reclaim the top ICC Ranking in Tests.
India’s Test squad for the first two Tests against Australia:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.