Jasprit Bumrah injured himself during the first T20I against Ireland. (Source: PTI)
India seam bowler Jasprit Bumrah is likely to miss the first three Tests of the five-matches against England with the series set to commence on August 1. He is still recovering from the thumb injury picked up in the first match of the tour of UK, a T20 against Ireland last month. Bumrah has still not fully recovered from the injury missing the two T20s against Ireland, T20s and ODIs against England as a result states ESPNCricinfo.
The Test squad will be announced on Wednesday and Bumrah is unlikely to find a place in it. As per the report, selectors will reward spinner Kuldeep Yadav for his strong showing against England picking up fifers in both T20s and ODIs. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant is set to get a maiden Test call up for the all-important series. With Bumrah out, Mohammed Shami is set for a comeback after clearing the mandatory yo-yo fitness test. Shami had earlier missed out majority of the IPL with a hamstring injury. Thereafter, he was not included in the limited over squads for England having failed the fitness test.
Shami joins the fast-bowling contingent which includes Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav. Allrounder Hardik Pandya is also included in the seam-bowling options.
Kuldeep, who was India’s highest wicket-taker in the limited-overs against England, will be part of a three-man spin attack comprising R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
In the wicketkeeping department, Wriddhiman Saha is still recovering from the thumb injury picked up in the IPL and Dinesh Karthik is the first choice wicketkeeper. Keeping that in mind, Pant’s likely inclusion is an interest add to the squad. He is currently in the UK playing for India A against the Lions with 15 dismissals on the A tour.
In the post-match interaction after losing the ODI series, Kohli said he and the selectors did not have to make any hard decisions. “Our squad is pretty settled. We are really excited to be going into a lengthy Test series. It is going to be very challenging, but something that we are looking forward to as a side. We want to play hard cricket. We want to play tough cricket, which I’m sure the English team would provide us. It is going to be a hard-fought series between two quality sides,” he said.
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