IND vs SL | Navdeep Saini returns to T20 dialogue as Jasprit Bumrah makes comeback from injury

After much speculations regarding Jasprit Bumrah's fitness, where there have been two contrasting reports, the BCCI have announced his name in the 15-member squad for the T20I series against Sri Lanka. The Mumbai Indians pacer had suffered a lower back fracture and has been out of action since the completion of India's tour of West Indies in August. He missed the home series against South Africa and Bangladesh.

While Burmah's news is bound to make Indian fans happy, Navdeep Saini, who missed out on the Bangladesh and Windies T20 series, has returned to India's T20 dialogue after his impressive ODI debut in Cuttack on Sunday. 

Rohit Sharma, who had a busy time on the road, has been rested for the series as a part of the workload management scheme. Shikhar Dhawan, who had missed a major part of the 2019 World Cup with a thumb injury, and then missed out the Windies home series after suffering a deep cut to his knee while putting in a full-length dive to get back to the crease in a Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament and needed multiple stitches, has also returned to the side.

Dhawan replaces Mayank Agarwal, who was called up as a cover for the left-handed batsman, for the Windies ODI series. With Sanju Samson being in the side, Dhawan will be the first choice opener alongside KL Rahul, with the Kerala batsman becoming the reserve for the slot.

A heroic batting performance in Cuttack which guided India home against Windies helped Shardul Thakur force his way through to the T20I side as an effective replacement for Bhuvneshwar Kumar. 

India Squad for Sri Lanka T20Is: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar