NEW DELHI: After a prolonged period of injury recovery, Jasprit Bumrah is set to mark his comeback to international cricket as the BCCI’s senior selection committee unveiled the 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Ireland in Dublin. In a significant development, Bumrah has been appointed as the captain of Team India, given that a second-string side has been chosen for the Ireland tour.
Joining the squad is Karnataka pacer Prasidh Krishna, who last represented India in an ODI match against Zimbabwe in August of the previous year before going through a surgery for a stress fracture. Ruturaj Gaikwad, slated to lead India in the Asian Games scheduled from September 23 to October 8, has been named the vice-captain of the side.
The journey of Bumrah’s recovery has been arduous. He underwent a successful back surgery in March, which kept him away from competitive cricket since a T20I match against Australia in September 2022. While he made a brief return during the Australia T20I series, the injury resurfaced, leading to further setbacks.
Bumrah’s rehabilitation began in November of last year, and he was initially selected for the ODI series against Sri Lanka in January this year. However, as his fitness drills intensified in January, he experienced discomfort once again.
Regrettably, his injury prevented him from participating in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 and the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2023. The medical team at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru had originally planned for his return during this year’s Asia Cup, commencing on August 30.
The selected squad for the T20I series against Ireland comprises: Jasprit Bumrah (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad (Vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, W Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, and Avesh Khan.
