Pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the 3-match ODI series between India and Sri Lanka.
Earlier, the All-India Senior Selection Committee had included Bumrah in the ODI squad, though he been out of action since September last year.
The pacer was also ruled out of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup due to back injury.
However, the board pulled him out as they are not fully convinced about his recovery.
Interestingly, the BCCI has decided to not name a replacement for the player.
In his absence, the likes of Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh will shoulder the responsbility.
The BCCI release stated: “Team India pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the upcoming 3-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.”
“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.”
Even India captain Rohit Sharma does not want to take any chances with Jasprit Bumrah.
Rohit Sharma said, “Very unfortunate. The poor guy has been working really hard at the NCA. He felt stiffness in his back a couple of days ago and if Jasprit Bumrah is saying he is not feeling well, you have to pull him out.”
“We need to be extra careful with Bumrah.”
There is now a question mark over whether the pace spearhead will be available for the white-ball home series against New Zealand beginning on January 18.
It is also debatable if he will be in contention for the four-Test Border-Gavaskar series commencing on February 9.
With India set to host the ODI World Cup in October-November this year, Bumrah’s last-minute exclusion is only adding to the speculation about the exact status of his injury.
The return of old guards Rohit, Kohli and KL Rahul and also Shreyas Iyer, though, will give the hosts a huge boost.
India will play their opening game of the three-match ODI against Sri Lanka on Tuesday in Guwahati.
The ODIs will be held in Guwahati, Kolkata and Trivandrum on January 10, 12 and 15 respectively.
India’s updated squad for Sri Lanka ODIs
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, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.
