Jasprit Bumrah pulled out of India vs Sri Lanka ODIs in huge BCCI U-turn: Report

On the eve of India’s series opener against Sri Lanka, the BCCI has reportedly pulled Jasprit Bumrah out of the three-match ODI squad, given the string of important series that lie ahead. Bumrah, who was added to the squad for the series starting tomorrow in Guwahati for his first cricketing assignment since October, has been removed with the directives coming from the NCA, reports Cricbuzz.

With Bumrah showing a tendency to break down after playing non-stop cricket, it is believed that the India pacer is better off being given a little more time before returning at full throttle. Bumrah is however, expected to feature in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at home in a four-Test series starting next week, the Indian Premier League, possibly the World Test Championship final and of course, the World Cup taking place in India later this year.

Initially, it was believed that the BCCI is satisfied with the progress shown by Bumrah since recovering from the stress fracture he encountered in his back. After rushing back for the T20Is against Australia before the World Cup, Bumrah’s stress fracture resurfaced, which is why the BCCI decided to keep India’s premier pacer away and waited for his full recovery.

While recovering, Bumrah kept posting videos of his training and impending return on social media, and while he was not named in India’s initial squad, the board decided to add him in the first big news of the new year. But now, it seems as if Bumrah’s return to top-flight cricket has been delayed as the pacer may still not be 100 percent ready for a comeback.

Bumrah’s first episode of stress fracture in the back last year took place after India’s limited-overs tour of England, where he had grabbed 6/19 at The Oval. As a result of it, Bumrah was ruled out of India’s Asia Cup campaign. He returned to play two T20Is against Australia in Nagpur and Hyderabad, returning figures of 1/23 and 0/50, when the injury resurfaced and forced him to miss the World Cup in Australia. (Hindustan Times)