Bumrah rested from one-day series against Australia
Australia’s top order batsmen can breathe a sigh of relief after Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah was pulled from the upcoming three-match one-day series that gets underway at the SCG on Saturday.
After taking 21 wickets across four Tests at 17 and going within a whisker of taking out the man of the series award, Bumrah has been advised to give his body a break.
He sent down 157.1 overs across the Test series and subsequently won’t feature against either Australia or during a tour afterwards against New Zealand.
A statement released on Tuesday by the BCCI said: “Keeping in mind the workload of the bowler, it was best felt to give him [Bumrah] adequate rest ahead of the home series against Australia.”
Mohammed Siraj, a right-arm seamer yet to make his one-day international debut, will fill Bumrah’s void in the Indian squad.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has returned to the Indian squad after heading back to India following the Boxing Day Test to be at home for the birth of his child.
The first of three ODIs between the two sides will mark the start of preparations ahead of the World Cup later this year in June.
Australian players did not train on Tuesday and won’t come together until Thursday, some two days out from the fixture at the same ground as the final Test of the summer.
Cricket Australia named a 14-man squad last week that did not have room for Chris Lynn, Ashton Agar, Travis Head or Nathan Coulter-Nile.
Usman Khawaja earned a recall and could open the batting in what would be his first ODI since a fixture against Pakistan in Sydney in 2017.
Selectors will also have to ponder whether Nathan Lyon, another player back in the mix, is the right fit in an Australian XI that will be desperate to start the series well after a horror 2018.