Injured Bumrah’s absence from the T20 series against England casts doubt on his return to the ICC event.
Leading fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is set to miss India’s T20 international series against England, but his bowling partner Mohammad Shami will return after a year out, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed.
Bumrah, who was suffering from back spasms during the final match of the Test series against Australia, was not included in the 15-man squad named by the BCCI on Saturday.
BCCI has not disclosed the nature of his injury or when Bumrah will return to action.
While his absence from the five-match bilateral series is unlikely to cause serious concern for India, the T20 champions will be sweating on his recovery and comeback ahead of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and Dubai.
The 31-year-old was the top wicket-taker on India’s tour of Australia, but was forced out of the Sydney Test midway through. However, the BCCI did not give a reason for his omission from the white-ball squad.
Shami returned to the squad after more than a year out with an ankle injury and surgery following the 2023 50-over World Cup.
The 34-year-old missed all of India’s 2024 internationals but returned to domestic cricket in October and was closely monitored by the national team’s medical staff.
India missed Shami in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series in Australia.
Along with Shami, all-rounder Axar Patel was named India’s vice-captain for the first time. Suryakumar Yadav leads the team.
All-rounders Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar, as well as pacer Harshit Rana, returned to the T20 squad after missing the 3-1 series win in South Africa in November due to their Test commitments in Australia.
Star wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant continued to miss India’s T20 plans. He last appeared in the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in the West Indies.
In Pant’s absence, Sanju Samson has been the first batsman and first keeper, scoring three centuries in seven matches against Bangladesh and South Africa last year. Dhruv Jurel is the second goalkeeper named in the squad.
India host England in the first T20I on January 22 and the series ends on February 12, followed by a three-match One Day International series before the Champions Trophy next month.
Composition of India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (goalkeeper).
