Indian pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah is sidelined for the next two Test against Sri Lanka as he has not been able to recover from the knee injury. The decision has been taken under the directives of BCCI’s Sports Science unit at its Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, which had recommended against the star fast bowler returning to international cricket too soon.
The 32-year-old had to sit out of the third ODI against England due to an impact injury he had picked up in the series. Bumrah had recently started his rehabilitation but still has discomfort in his knee, although he was expected to be fit for Sri Lanka tour before.
The swelling team now seems to be more severe than was actually thought and doctors have been reluctant to take a chance with Bumrah in the Test format, particularly with their international commitments in their calendar for the future. India will kickstart the two-match Test duel with Sri Lanka from Aug 15 with the second Test to start on Aug 23 in Galle.
Now, the selectors are expected to put out a name for Bumrah, the two prominent names as a substitute are Jammu and Kashmir pacer who is coming out of his strike-rate genius, Auqib Nabi, and Vidarbha’s Yash Thakur.
India’s injury woes have only worsened in the run-up to the tour. A hamstring injury has also forced all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana and Washington Sundar out of the first Test, at least.
Bumrah’s absence is a huge blow, as he is the most experienced bowler for India. The team will now pray that the ace pacer comes with a full recovery before he’s able to return for action later in the season.