The all-India senior selection committee decided on Monday not to play Jasprit Bumrah in the three-match One-Day International series against Sri Lanka, which begins in Guwahati on Tuesday.
Bumrah was included in India’s ODI squad on January 3 after being cleared by the National Cricket Academy, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India has since decided against rushing him into action.
The BCCI released a statement on Monday: “Bumrah, who was set to join the team in Guwahati ahead of the ODI series, will need some more time to build bowling resilience. This decision has been taken as a precautionary measure.”
The release added that the All-India Senior Selection Committee has not named any replacement for Bumrah.
The NCA had declared Bumrah fit after he underwent rehabilitation, the board had said in the statement announcing the pacer’s return. However, with important assignments such as a four-match Test series against Australia and the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup at home slated to take place this year, the decision to play him against Sri Lanka was reconsidered.
Bumrah had been out of action since September 2022 and had also missed the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup owing to a back injury. He had missed the Asia Cup in the UAE because of a similar back problem. The pacer made a comeback in the T20I series against Australia in September but seemed to be in discomfort and as a result, did not play all the matches.
India, who won the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka 2-1, will play three ODIs against their neighbours on January 10, 12 and 15 respectively.
India’s next assignment will also be at home against New Zealand. The men in blue will compete in a three-match ODI series, from January 18, followed by three T20Is from January 7.
Whether Bumrah will make a comeback against New Zealand remains to be seen.
India’s squad for the Sri Lanka ODIs: Rohit Sharma (c), 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, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.
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