IND vs SA | Jasprit Bumrah set to miss the entire home season of Test cricket
Speedster Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the upcoming Test series against South Africa and he will also be unavailable for the home series against Bangladesh. The team management is hoping that the bowler will make a return in the ODI series against West Indies later this year, in December.
Missing Jasprit Bumrah will be a major blow for the Indian team in the first Test series at home this season. The ‘Proteas’ are scheduled to play three matches after sharing the spoils in the T20 Internationals. Even though India is slated to play Bangladesh in a 3-match T20I series followed by a couple of Tests, the BCCI is not willing to take a risk with Bumrah and is willing to field him only during the West Indies series.
"You can say that the team is looking at a return for the West Indies limited-overs series. The team management is very clear that they want no shortcuts and undergoing a proper rehab and returning fully fit is vital. The Bangladesh series would be too early," said a source as per reports of IANS.
This implies that Bumrah is not taking part in any of the five Test matches India is scheduled to play in this calendar year, Instead, he will focus on limited-overs cricket in the build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia next year.
With a packed schedule for the Indian cricket team, skipper Virat Kohli has urged the management to curtail the workload of core players like Jasprit Bumrah to avoid injuries. For the time being, the team has to field their side without the likes of the ICC World No. 1 ODI bowler.