With Jasprit Bumrah being ruled out of the limited-overs series against England after picking up a thumb injury, speedster Bhuvneshwar Kumar was supposed to carry the additional responsibility. Unfortunately for India, Bhuvneshwar had to miss the third T20I in Bristol and the first two ODIs at Trent Bridge and Lord’s owing to stiff back.

However, on the eve of series-deciding third ODI at Leeds, Kumar was seen bowling at full throttle at the India nets. Considering Bhuvi’s prowess as a death-overs bowler in recent times, this is certainly a pleasing sight for the Indian fans and the team management.

Addressing the media conference in Headingley, India’s assistant coach Sanjay Bangar also hoped for Bhuvneshwar’s return. Although, he made it clear that the ace swing bowler will have to undergo a fitness test ahead of the crucial tie.

“He’s in with a chance to play. He’ll have to go through some sort of a fitness test before we can confirm his availability for the game,” Bangar told reports about Bhuvi’s chances of featuring in the third ODI.

Historically, the conditions assist swing bowling at Leeds and on Monday (July 16) there was thick cloud cover when the teams trained. One can certainly expect Bhuvneshwar to play a vital role in the all-important third ODI on Tuesday (July 17).

India’s ODI squad against England:

Virat Kohli(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Hardik Pandya, Siddarth Kaul, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suresh Raina, Umesh Yadav, Axar Patel