Bumrah touch-and-go for first Test in Sri Lanka

Jasprit_Bumrah
Jasprit_Bumrah (PC: RevSportz/Debasis Sen)

Shamik Chakrabarty, Mumbai

Jasprit Bumrah is touch-and-go for the first Test against Sri Lanka, it is learnt. The fast-bowling maestro, who suffered a knee sprain ahead of the final ODI against England at Lord’s earlier this month, is likely to be included in the Test squad for the two-match series in the Island nation with an asterisk — subject to fitness clearance. The team selection is to take place “by Tuesday”. Bumrah, meanwhile, is set to report at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) this week.

India will play two Tests in Sri Lanka, with the first match starting in Galle on August 15. So there’s still time for Bumrah’s full recovery. A question mark, though, remains over his availability in the first game. Also, his injury is not a case in isolation. In fact, the medical room is overflowing.

Washington Sundar, too, is all but ruled out of the first Test. The all-rounder sustained a right hamstring injury during the second ODI against England in Cardiff. Without him, India will miss their first-choice off-spinner against a Sri Lankan batting line-up that has an overload of left-handers. According to sources, Saransh Jain is in consideration as a back-up option.

The 33-year-old Madhya Pradesh off-spinner was part of India A team’s tour to Sri Lanka in June-July where he took seven wickets in two matches besides scoring 70 not out in the second game. Indian cricket has a dearth of quality off-spinners at the moment and Saransh is in with a chance.

Given the conditions, the bowling attack is set to be spin-heavy, with Ravindra Jadeja returning to the fold, to be aided by Kuldeep Yadav and Manav Suthar.

That little bit of doubt over Bumrah aside, the pace pack is likely to have Mohammed Siraj, Gurnoor Brar and a fourth seamer.

Coming back to the fitness issues, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana are ruled out — left quadriceps injury and Grade 1 right hamstring injury respectively. Sai Sudharshan’s fitness, too, is said to be under the scanner. The nature of his injury, however, is not known.

The post Bumrah touch-and-go for first Test in Sri Lanka appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Consistent Nicholas Pooran can be world’s top T20 batter

Image
Nicholas Pooran’s carnage against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Image: IPL He has always had a calmness about him. A very West Indian relaxed kind of mindset and demeanour. And having seen adversity, he knows that one needs to celebrate and value the good that comes your way. The urge to keep getting better, and be the best version of oneself, is what defines the new Nicholas Pooran. That’s what came through in the candid conversations we had on the IPL and his own approach to batting. Not overawed by the 21-crore price tag or the weight of expectations, Pooran is simply going about his job. He knows he can hit the ball miles and is keeping it simple. Go and do what you do best for hours and hours at practice, and in doing so, help your team Lucknow Super Giants] demolish opponents. “The best part about this franchise is they have never put me under pressure,” he told me. “When you are paid a lot of money, there is always pressure. Not so much from outside but from within. You know you ne...
Read more

From scoring ton in Patna to taking on bouncers like a ‘bullet’ in Perth – Nitish’s story of perseverance

Image
Nitish Kumar Reddy during the 1st innings of the Perth Test (PC: Debasis Sen) “Grateful, an innings to remember.” Nitish Reddy had posted the aforesaid statement on his Instagram account after cracking his maiden first-class hundred, against Bihar, in Patna. It wasn’t just about Nitish scoring an unbeaten 159 for Andhra. It was also about the way he scored those runs. He essayed a few crunchy drives off Veer Pratap Singh and also showcased his range of shots against Ashutosh Aman, the left-arm spinner, by playing with the turn and also against the turn. This hundred from Nitish came just before the 2024 IPL season, where he accumulated 303 runs. Once again, it wasn’t just about Nitish accruing 303 runs as he accumulated them with a touch of class. Soon, the Indian think-tank drafted the all-rounder into the limited-overs set-up. Although he missed the Zimbabwe series because of a hernia problem, it was crystal clear that the coaching staff had a vision – to pick him for the tour o...
Read more

Turning the clock back by 0.12 seconds

Image
MS Dhoni with a stumping dismissal against MI in the IPL 2025 in Chennai (PC: BCCI) The moment of the Chennai Super Kings-Mumbai Indians match lasted less than half a second. It was the 11 th over of the MI innings. Suryakumar Yadav was bringing the batting side back in the game. Noor Ahmad beat him on a forward charge, the ball spun away, and the right-hander’s hind leg got off the ground before he planted it back. That was all MS Dhoni needed to brush the bails off. At a packed MA Chidambaram Stadium decked in yellow and chanting his name, that was the only occasion when Dhoni was in ‘action’. It showed that at 43, his reflexes have not slackened and he has got sharper in plotting dismissals. This one was replayed on TV again and again during the match and commentators couldn’t help but keep talking about it. He had conceded four byes on the leg side in the same over. But this was the Dhoni who elevated stumping to another level. When it comes to waiting for batters to err wit...
Read more