India pacer Jasprit Bumrah will play in practice matches ahead of the Men in Blue’s three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which starts on 13 September.
According to a report in The Times of India, Bumrah, along with Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar, will play the practice matches, which the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) has scheduled between 4 and 9 September in Bengaluru. The Indian team is expected to assemble in Delhi on 10 September, three days before the series against Afghanistan gets underway.
“The BCCI medical team at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) had shared a report with selectors last week, where it was mentioned that these four players were clinically fit but had to be assessed in practice matches,” a BCCI source told TOI.
“The CoE has lined up the matches from September 4-9. The CoE is confident that the players should be ready for the Afghanistan series,” the source told TOI.
Prince Yadav emerges as possible backup
Right-arm fast bowler Prince Yadav has emerged as a possible backup for Bumrah, the report added. The Gujarat pacer sustained a knee injury during the ODI series against England in July and was ruled out of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. He, in fact, hasn’t played a Test for India since November 2025, when India took on South Africa at home.
India are scheduled to play New Zealand in a two-match Test series in New Zealand later this year, but the Indian team management reportedly wants Bumrah to get some game time in the Ranji Trophy or the India A series before a decision is made. “As it is, he has to skip Test matches because of his fitness. One has to be clear that his knee can take the load of a first-class game before he takes the field in a Test in New Zealand,” another source told TOI. It needs to be seen if he plays a Ranji Trophy game or a first-class game for India ‘A’ in New Zealand.
“He is likely to be rested for the T20I series against West Indies at home in October. But the ‘A’ games in New Zealand overlap with the ODI series there,” the source added.
India A are scheduled to play three four-day matches against New Zealand A between 24 October and 10 November. The Indian senior men’s team’s Test series against New Zealand is scheduled to begin on 19 November.