Jasprit Bumrah to not return for Sri Lanka ODIs, pacer to miss series as BCCI keen to not rush him

Jasprit Bumrah was set to return to international cricket, after a long layoff due to back injury, in the India-Sri Lanka home ODIs. On Monday (January 09), it has been confirmed that the star pacer will not return for the SL ODIs as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)sources have informed that a call has been taken not to rush him into action so soon. Thus, Bumrah is not even among the players who have reached Guwahati, the venue for the three-match ODI series opener on Tuesday (January 10).

It is to be noted Bumrah has been out of action since September 2022, which kept him out of the T20 World Cup 2022 edition in Australia as well. Before that, the pacer had also missed the Asia Cup 2022, in the UAE, due to injury concerns. On January 03, the BCCI added Bumrah to Rohit Sharma-led India's ODI squad for the Lanka series, on the recommendation of the All-India Selection Committee."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," BCCI had said in a media release.

"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," the BCCI had further mentioned in the statement. In Bumrah's absence, India will rely on pacers Md Shami, Md Siraj, Umran Malik and uncapped player Arshdeep Singh. Hardik Pandya is also an option but it will be interesting to see if he bowls in the SL series.

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 and Arshdeep Singh.