Bumrah was expected to bolster the bowling offense in the three-game series starting here on Tuesday, but his return has been further delayed after he failed to fully recover from the stress fracture in lower back, which saw him miss several assignments, including the Asian Cup and T20 World Cup.
There is now a question mark over whether the pace spearhead will be available for the home series against New Zealand from January 18, and whether he will be in contention for the four Test series Border-Gavaskar starting February 9.
With India set to host the ODI World Cup in October-November this year, Bumrah’s last-minute exclusion only adds to the mystery surrounding the bowler’s recovery and rehabilitation process. of rhythm.
The return of former guards Rohit, Kohli and KL Rahul along with Shreyas Iyer, however, will give the hosts a huge boost as they watch the series after winning the T20Is against Sri Lanka.
India have a busy ODI schedule – 15 games excluding the Asian Cup – in the 10-month window of preparation for the World Cup in October-November and the key will not just be finding the good balance, but also managing the workload amid the Indian Premier League and the highly anticipated Australian Test series.
But another Bumrah injury scare threw the wrench in the works of the team’s leadership.
There also lies the problem of abundance in the selection of the top five hitters.
Fly-half Rohit and number 3 Kohli choose each other, while they are in good shape, it will be difficult to drop Ishan Kishan and Iyer.
Kishan recently played a sensational stunt in his last ODI in Bangladesh when he scored a career-high 210. The youngster could be in a direct clash with Shubman Gill to open with Rohit. Although Gill didn’t play the Bangladesh Series in December last year, he proved his worth as a player in the ODI format.
Iyer rode a dream run in the ODIs last year and scored 724 runs at an average of 55.69 over 15 innings. He was the backbone of the Indian stick with his ability to swing the shot and tackle the spin through the middle of overs – a key skill on the tracks of the subcontinent.
Then there’s the phenom named Suryakumar Yadav, whose T20 exploits have forced management to explore his usefulness in the 50-over format. The mid-ranked hitter is coming off an unbeaten 51-ball 112 in their 91-run win over Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I in Rajkot.
It was Surya’s third century in the format in seven months, making him the first player in the game’s history to score three T20I tons without opening the stick.
However, his ODI career hasn’t really taken off so far. Surya has scored 384 points in 16 appearances with only two half-centuries left but he could get the team management’s full backing to improve his numbers over 50 ahead of the World Cup.
With speedy veteran Mohammed Shami also back in the ranks, he too is expected to be in the playing XI along with Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik.
New vice-captain Hardik Pandya’s bowling skills will also come in handy, but for someone who has missed over a year with a back injury ahead of IPL 2022, it remains to be seen how much of overtaking the skipper comes out of the Indian Prime Minister. versatile.
It will be a lucky headache for India as they would look to dominate the ODI leg and score a brace against the visitors, who have an almost similar side that lost the T20I series 2-1.
Sri Lankan skipper and all-around star Dasun Shanaka led by example in the T20Is, becoming their best run-getter with 124 runs at a success rate of 187.87.
Sri Lanka are said to be looking for more stability at the top and are hoping fly-half Pathum Nissanka will give them a good start.
Nissanka was their best run-getter last year (491 points in 11 games) and he would like to continue where he left off.
The middle order will be led by Charith Asalanka who also had a successful last year, averaging 53.25. The visitors also picked up Jeffrey Vandersay, who could be useful on the Indian wickets.
Vandersay was their main wicket-taker in ODIs last year, claiming 14 scalps in seven matches.
Teams (from)
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah , Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh.
Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Mendis (vc), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, Maheesh Theekshana, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Nuwanidu Fernando (ODI ), Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara.
Start of the game: 1:30 p.m. IST.
