Team India pacer Jasprit Bumrah was first expected to return to India colours for the third Test against Australia and then the return was pushed back to the three-match ODI series against the Australians next month. However, when the squad for the ODIs was announced on Sunday (February 19), Bumrah’s name was once against missing.
The pacer has been ruled out of action for almost a year now with a back injury. According to Cricbuzz website, the Mumbai Indians pacer is yet to get clearance from National Cricket Academy (NCA) to return to international cricket. His workload in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 will also be monitored closely as India are expected to play the World Test Championships (WTC) final immediately after the T20 league.
#bumrah just before IPL starts :pic.twitter.com/l6l8umPYyI
— sri (@sri_verizon) February 13, 2023
Bumrah has been out of international action for almost five months, he last played for the country in a T20I, against Australia, on September 25 last year. Over the last 10 days, Bumrah is believed to have played a couple of practice games at the Bengaluru facility of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) but the NCA managers have not issued an all-clear for him to be considered for the national call-up.
The India speedstar will now play IPL 2023 directly but the Indian team does not see it as an issue of major concern. The team management will monitor his workload in the IPL 2023 as well.
It remains to be seen if Bumrah will be given a ‘conditional NOC’ to play in the IPL 2023, which has not been uncommon in the league. In the past, some foreign boards have asked bowlers not to bowl more than 24 balls in the nets while playing in the IPL and a similar conditions can be used for Bumrah and other Team India bowlers as well.
The selection committee meeting in Kolkata was conducted without a chairman, as the post fell vacant after Chetan Sharma resigned following a sting operation on Friday (February 17). Apart from four selectors – Subroto Banerjee, Salil Ankola, SS Das and S Sharath – Rohit Sharma and convenor Jay Shah attended the meeting online from New Delhi where the second Test concluded on Sunday. The BCCI is yet to decide whether to recruit a new chairman or announce an interim chairman or make one from the existing four.
