Jasprit Bumrah, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, and Harshit Rana are all facing critical fitness clearances ahead of the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan and the subsequent Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently named the four players in the 15-member squad for Afghanistan series, but their participation is strictly conditional on clear medical reports from the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Match simulation tests are scheduled this week to verify their recovery before the team assembles in New Delhi on September 10, TOI reported.
According to the report, the selection committee has identified Prince Yadav as backup if Bumrah fails to clear the fitness test.
“The BCCI medical team at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) had shared a report with selectors last week, where it was mentioned that these four players were clinically fit but had to be assessed in practice matches. The CoE has lined up the matches from Sept 4-9. The CoE is confident that the players should be ready for the Afghanistan series,” the publication quoted a BCCI source as saying.
The report also suggests that Prince is fully available for selection following a hamstring injury sustained on July 25 during India’s second T20I match against Zimbabwe. The national selectors view the young pacer as a highly serious prospect for the shorter format after a breakthrough IPL season and several impactful performances.
Prince initially made his international debut earlier this year in June during a home ODI series against Afghanistan.
Speaking of Bumrah, he suffered an impact injury and subsequent reactive swelling in his left knee during the England ODI series in July.
Despite undergoing rehabilitation at the CoE, the Indian pace spearhead continued to experience discomfort, prompting medical staff to advise against rushing his return. As a result, Jammu & Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi replaced him in the Test squad for the recently held Sri Lanka tour.
As per the report, the selectors and the team management want Bumrah to prove his match fitness in a first-class game before the two-Test tour of New Zealand. He has not played red-ball cricket since the South Africa Test in Guwahati last November.
“As it is, he has to skip Test matches because of his fitness. One has to be clear that his knee can take the load of a first-class game before he takes the field in a Test in New Zealand. It needs to be seen if he plays a Ranji Trophy game or a first-class game for India ‘A’ in New Zealand. He is likely to be rested for the T20I series against West Indies at home in October. But the ‘A’ games in New Zealand overlap with the ODI series there,” a source told TOI.
