India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, starting on Tuesday in Guwahati.
As per an official statement from the BCCI, Bumrah, who was set to join the team in Guwahati ahead of the ODI series, will need some more time to build his bowling resilience. It added that the decision had been taken as a precautionary measure, with no replacement being named in Bumrah's absence, further delaying the competitive cricket comeback of the right-arm fast-bowler.
Bumrah, 29, was not a part of India's original ODI squad for the series against Sri Lanka announced on December 27. But he was included in the squad for the three-match series on January 3.
"The pacer has undergone rehabilitation and has been declared fit by the NCA. He will be joining the Team India ODI squad soon," the BCCI had said at that time.
Bumrah has been out of cricketing action since September 2022, when his back injury resurfaced after playing two home T20Is against Australia and was subsequently ruled out of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia.
It is yet to be known if India will pick Bumrah for the ODI series against New Zealand which begins from January 18. In his absence, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik will form the fast-bowling department for the series against Sri Lanka, apart from pace-bowling allrounder and vice-captain Hardik Pandya in the mix.
After the first ODI in Guwahati is played between India and Sri Lanka, it will be followed by matches in Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram on January 12 and 15 respectively.
The ODI series against Sri Lanka will see the return of captain Rohit Sharma, talismanic batter Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer after missing the recent 2-1 T20I series triumph.
India's updated squad for Sri Lanka ODIs: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (VC), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.
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