It seems that Jasprit Bumrah is set to make his comeback for India in the T20I series against Ireland in August. After being out of action for a long time due to a lower back stress fracture and undergoing surgery, he has been rehabilitating at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a 15-member squad for the United Kingdom tour, with Bumrah leading the team as the captain.
Bumrah’s return to the squad is seen as a significant boost to India’s preparations for the ICC World Cup in 2023. He last played an ODI in July 2022 and a T20I in September of the same year, where he had a forgetful outing against Australia. After missing out on the T20 World Cup, he was named in the squad for the T20Is against Sri Lanka but was eventually pulled out to regain peak fitness.
Joining Bumrah in the squad will be Prasidh Krishna, who has also been recovering from a lumbar stress fracture, making his much-awaited comeback. However, the squad will miss the presence of regular players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Shubman Gill. Hardik has been given a rest after leading India in T20Is unofficially, and Gill has been playing continuously for a year, warranting some time off to recharge.
Assisting Bumrah in his captaincy duties will be Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has been named the vice-captain. With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli absent, the team is looking to the young brigade, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, and Jitesh Sharma, to step up to the challenge.
The T20I series against Ireland is scheduled to start on August 18th, with matches on August 20th and 23rd. It will be an important opportunity for Bumrah to showcase his form and fitness ahead of the ICC World Cup.
India’s squad for Ireland series: Jasprit Bumrah (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad (Vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper), Jitesh Sharma (Wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, W Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan
