Jasprit Bumrah’s absence will dampen the experience factor in India’s squad as they resume their World Test Championship (WTC) bid in Sri Lanka with a two-match series, starting Saturday in Galle.
Bumrah, who was initially named in the 15-man squad, was omitted from the side last week after failing to recover from his injury, which was aggravated during the ODI series in England last month. J&K seamer Auqib Nabi was named his replacement.
Bumrah was ruled out of the final ODI on the England tour at Lord’s after developing reactive swelling and an impact injury on his left knee. Former India batter S Badrinath slammed the Indian team management for the poor handling of Bumrah’s situation ahead of a crucial stretch in the remainder of the season where India will feature in nine Tests.
“I don’t know who made the decision. COE will not make the selection, right? They will just say he is in this state and can play these matches and his body is in this state. But I think the captain, coach, and selectors are taking the decision. COE only passes the information. They are not selectors,” Badrinath said on his YouTube channel.
After playing the T20 World Cup earlier this year with a niggle in his knee, Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene revealed that Bumrah had to build his workload gradually, which saw a dip in his pace. Then, after the IPL, despite being rested for the Afghanistan series and T20Is against Ireland and England, the knee injury resurfaced following an impact injury in Cardiff.
Besides Bumrah, India have also lost the services of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, pacer Harshit Rana and spin all-rounder Washington Sundar to injures ahead of the series. Left-handed batter Sai Sudharsan also failed to receive fitness clearance, prompting the return of Sarfaraz Khan back to the Test squad.
“I don’t have an immediate answer to the root cause of so many injuries. It is important to see what kind of injuries these are. At high-level professional sport, injuries are common. Sai Sudharsan got hit by a ball, with Bumah, it is a chronic injury because of being overused and fitness is not Sundar’s forte, he is injury-prone. His fitness needs a lot of work. Management and monitoring is very important. Injuries are bound to happen and you cannot control it,” added Badrinath.
In Bumrah’s absence, India’s pace attack will be helmed by Mohammed Siraj, alongside Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and Nabi.