Jasprit Bumrah and three other Indian players—Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar and Nitish Reddy—are set to take part in a match simulation from September 4 to 9. This will act as a fitness test before the T20I series against Afghanistan kicks off.
Bumrah’s name is on the squad list but he’ll only play if he clears this final hurdle. The same goes for the other three—if they pass, they’re in.
The BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) is behind these practice matches. The selectors want to see how these guys hold up after spending time out because of injuries. The Afghanistan series which starts on September 13 in New Delhi is fast approaching and the CoE reportedly feels positive about having all four available. According to the Times of India, the CoE told selectors that these players are ‘clinically fit,’ but now it’s time to see if they’re match ready.
Plenty of eyes are on the CoE because of the rising number of injuries. The Indian team has missed several key players lately and it’s starting to show. BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia recently said after a review meeting in Mumbai that the overcrowded schedule might be to blame, and promised that the board will factor this in when planning future tours. The goal is to give players the rest and prep they need rather than pushing them to the brink.
Just in case Bumrah isn’t ready, Prince Yadav has been prepped as a backup. He debuted for India this June, so he’s waiting in the wings.
On Bumrah specifically, the management wants him to play some red-ball matches before putting him back in the Test squad for the New Zealand tour later this year. He’s been out of first-class action for almost a year thanks to injury, and the team wants to make sure his knee can handle the load. There’s no date or venue announced yet for these red-ball matches, but they want to be certain he’s fully ready before that Test return.
India’s squad: Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson [WK], Ishan Kishan [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar*, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah*, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana*