The big concern for captain Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir will be fitness of star Indian Test cricketers, including ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah, all-rounders Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy and bowlers Harshit Rana, Akash Deep and Anshul Kamboj.
According to a report in Cricbuzz website, the BCCI selectors led by Ajit Agarkar are set to meet in the next 10 to 36 hours to select the squad for Sri Lanka Test series.
But before the squad can be selected, the selection committee are waiting on the fitness report of these star players. Apart from these Test stars, white-ball specialists like Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarthy are also at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) to recover from injury.
According to the Cricbuzz report, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy are almost certain to be ruled out of the series but there is also big doubt over Washington Sundar.
“With the pitches in Sri Lanka expected to assist spinners, Washington, an off-spinner who has experience of batting in the top order, will be a valuable asset. But there is still no guarantee that the 26-year-old all-rounder, who is nursing a hamstring injury, will be available for the series. One possibility is a conditional selection for the second Test, which starts on August 23, but even that appears to be a long shot,” the Cricbuzz report stated.
Jasprit Bumrah’s availability also in doubt
Team India bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is also in doubt to return to Test cricket in Sri Lanka. The 32-year-old pacer has claimed 234 wickets in 52 Tests so far at an amazing average of 19.79. But he last played Test cricket earlier this year against South Africa in a 2-0 series loss.
Since then, Bumrah missed the one-off Test against Afghanistan last month since it was not part of the WTC calendar. The Mumbai Indians pacer made his international comeback in the three-match ODI series against England but missed the final game due to a left knee injury.
Bumrah has now also reported to CoE and needs to get clearance to take part in the two-match Test series vs Sri Lanka.
“Jasprit Bumrah had an impact injury on his left knee while fielding in the second ODI in Cardiff. He was not available for selection for the third ODI due to reactive swelling in his left knee,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz website.
Meanwhile, Harshit Rana is also nursing a hamstring injury like Washington Sundar and is almost certain to be out of Sri Lanka series. Rana could make his comeback September when India are scheduled to play in a string of T20I matches.