Bumrah misses Gujarat's Ranji Trophy match after Ganguly steps in
Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah has recovered from his back injury and will play in the upcoming limited-overs series against Sri Lanka and Australia respectively next month. Meanwhile, the build-up of the Ranji Trophy match between Gujarat and Kerala saw talks surrounding Bumrah's return. However, the pacer will not feature in the match. Here are further details.
Bumrah was asked to feature for Gujarat against Kerala
The 'Elite Group A' match between the two sides is set to start from Thursday onwards. Coming back after a three-month lay-off, Bumrah was asked to feature in this match. According to a report in The Times of India, Bumrah was keen on playing, however, he believed that the process shouldn't be a hectic one. This is due to a heavy schedule in 2020.
Dada intervenes, Bumrah to continue his break
The report adds that Bumrah shared his doubts with BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. The national selectors had advised the Gujarat team management to bowl Bumrah for only four to eight overs in a day. This was never going to be acceptable for the Gujarat team and thus Dada stepped in to allow Bumrah to continue his break.
'No hurry for Bumrah to play Ranji matches now'
"There's much time for the Test series in New Zealand. Until then, he doesn't play any red ball cricket. So there was no hurry. He can start with bowling four overs in a T20 game for now and play a Ranji match possibly closer to when it's time to fly to New Zealand," TOI quoted a source in the know of the matter.
Bumrah to lead India's bowling unit in the upcoming series
India's 15-member squads see the injured Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar miss out. Shardul Thakur, who had replaced Bhuvi against WI in the ODIs, keeps his place. Mohammed Shami wasn't included in both the squads after having earlier played against West Indies this month. Saini replaced the right-arm pacer. Bumrah will lead the bowling attack and hope to excel for the hosts.
Bumrah will directly feature against Sri Lanka
Ganguly's decision to break away from the protocol will now see Bumrah playing directly in the upcoming T20Is against Sri Lanka. The management was also not on favor of Bumrah being on the field for multiple days ahead of the shortest format.
