Jasprit Bumrah has been included as a last-minute addition to India's three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka starting January 10. Bumrah, India's premier pacer, was first sidelined due to a stress fracture in his back ahead of the Asia Cup but seems to have fully recovered after a long rest and undergoing intense rehabilitation at the NCA. In the last week of December, when India's squad for the Sri Lanka series was announced, Bumrah was not included with reports saying that the BCCI was not keen on rushing the India pacer, back but the big breaking on Tuesday afternoon suggests that the board, team management are satisfied with the 28-year-old's progress and getting him to return as early as possible in a World Cup year is the best step forward.
"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," the BCCI stated in a release. "Bumrah was out of cricketing action since September 2022 and was also ruled out of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup due to a back injury. 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."
However, whether Bumrah will immediately be slotted back into the Playing XI remains to be seen. Ideally, if he has been added to the squad, he will most likely play, but will it from the first game itself, will be a question captain Rohit Sharma, coach Rahul Dravid and Bumrah himself will be able to answer better. With the likes of Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik already present to shepherd India's pace department, Bumrah coming on board promises to strengthen the already-formidable bowling unit.
In what promises to be a very busy year ahead, which will see the Indian team take on Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home, play the 50-over Asia Cup and most important, the World Cup at home, Bumrah returning to his 100 percent and bowling at full tilt is much needed. He was missed during India's failed T20 World Cup campaign in Australia, which saw the Men in Blue stumble against England at the penultimate hurdle and crashed out with a rather one-sided 10-wicket defeat in the semifinal and captain Rohit will hope to have his best weapon fit and fresh.
{{/usCountry}}In what promises to be a very busy year ahead, which will see the Indian team take on Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home, play the 50-over Asia Cup and most important, the World Cup at home, Bumrah returning to his 100 percent and bowling at full tilt is much needed. He was missed during India's failed T20 World Cup campaign in Australia, which saw the Men in Blue stumble against England at the penultimate hurdle and crashed out with a rather one-sided 10-wicket defeat in the semifinal and captain Rohit will hope to have his best weapon fit and fresh.
{{/usCountry}}However, managing Bumrah's workload promises to be a tricky affair. His first real test will be the IPL 2023, where it needs to be ensured that Bumrah walks out of the gruelling two-month long tournament unscathed. One of the key takeaways of the BCCI's recent review meeting was for the 20-shortlisted players – which Bumrah is certainly a part of – to manage their workload better. Given the rising number of injury concerns, if a player needs to keep himself fit by playing more for India at the expense of playing the IPL, then be it. Having said that, Bumrah can be an exception as for him, match-practice remains key priority.
This was the second time that Bumrah's back has broken down. After the 2019 World Cup in England, Bumrah had his first encounter with a stress fracture during India's tour of West Indies which ruled him out of the Test series against South Africa and Bangladesh. It's an injury that does not require any surgical intervention and can only be treated with proper rest. Before that, Bumrah had to deal with a thumb injury in 2018 during the tour of England and an abdominal strain during India's tour of Australia in 2020-21.
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, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.