NEW DELHI: Nearly 11 months after limping off the field, Jasprit Bumrah will be the centre of attention when he captains India against Ireland. The three-match T20 International series, which begins in Dublin on Friday, will put the fast bowler's stamina and fitness to the test.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rinku Singh, and Jitesh Sharma are among the many Gen-Next IPL stars on the team, but many involved in Indian cricket will be closely watching Bumrah since he will be crucial to the home team's strategy during the ODI World Cup, which begins in less than two months.
After having surgery to repair lower-back stress fractures he had sustained during a home series against Australia before the T20 World Cup last year, the 29-year-old Bumrah is making a comeback.
Despite the fact that he will only bowl a maximum of 12 overs over the course of three games spread over five days, this series will give chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, ODI captain Rohit Sharma, and head coach Rahul Dravid a good notion of the Gujarat slinger's match fitness.
However, in 50-over cricket, he must bowl 10 overs over the course of two, three, or possibly four periods.
The BCCI posted Bumrah's bowling video on its official social media account. It showed him hurriedly bowling a right-hander with a disguised short ball and then nearly yorking a left-hander with a toe-crusher.
However, the circumstances of the match would be quite different, and both Dravid and Rohit have already burned their hands by hurrying him before the T20 World Cup in Australia last year.
The outcomes were terrible. That was the final series Bumrah participated in before his seven-year international career's longest break.
Earlier this year, Bumrah was selected for a home series but was forced to withdraw at the last minute due to surgery to treat an ailment that could have ended his career.
Bumrah will benefit from the Ireland series by getting in more mileage on his legs and preparing for the Asia Cup, when he will face off against players like Babar Azam up front on September 2.
Even though they haven't yet won a game against India, Ireland, captained by Andrew Balbirnie and featuring helpful players like Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, and left-arm spinner George Dockrell, is a strong team in the shortest format.
Josh Little, their left-arm seamer, was a key member of the Gujarat Titans club the previous season and would welcome the opportunity to demonstrate his abilities against an Indian team loaded with talent.
With the exception of Bumrah and Sanju Samson, every member of this Indian team will be competing for a gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, thus the core group will want to make the most of the three T20 Internationals.
Sanju Samson is the one player whose status will undoubtedly be scrutinized. Unless head coach Sitanshu Kotak receives a standing order from main team management to play the Kerala player ahead of the Asia Cup, he is unlikely to make the starting XI.
Jitesh and Rinku, two exciting IPL finds, are anticipated to receive their T20 India caps, while Shivam Dube will be eager for a second chance.
1/10:The return of Jasprit Bumrah
Reuters
2/10:Jasprit Bumrah
<p>Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah bounced back from his back injury and was selected to lead India's squad for the three-match T20I series against Ireland on Monday. </p>AFP
3/10:Out of international cricket
<p>Bumrah, 29, has been out of international cricket since the T20I series at home against Australia last September. </p>AFP
4/10:Surgery and recovery
<p>Bumrah underwent a surgery for a lower back stress fracture in New Zealand and was recuperating at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. </p>Getty Images
5/10:Birmingham Test
<p>Bumrah had previously captained India in the Birmingham Test against England last year and India had lost that match by seven wickets. </p>Getty Images
6/10:Last Test before injury
<p>It was the last Test Bumrah played before being out of action due to injury. </p>Getty Images
7/10:Fit to play
<p>Bumrah's clean bill of health paves the way for him to play in the ODI World Cup in India in October. </p>Getty Images
8/10:International cricket rigours
<p>The Ireland series is viewed as an opportunity for Bumrah to tune his body to the rigours of international cricket after a lengthy gap. </p>Getty Images
9/10:Three T20Is
<p>The three T20Is will start on August 18 at Malahide, Dublin, with the following matches on August 20 and 23 at the same ground. </p>Getty Images
10/10:Asia Cup
<p>India will then be next in action at the Asia Cup, to be jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30 to September 17. </p>Getty ImagesSimilar to Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna is also making a comeback to competitive cricket. The Bengaluru fast bowler was ODI team certainty before suffering a lower back stress fracture that also required surgery.
Before making a final decision on the Asia Cup selection, selectors are anticipated to review Krishna's performance. The squad is anticipated to be announced by this week's end.
It would be interesting to observe how team management and the players balance team goals with those of the individual players while keeping the big picture in mind.
Squads:
India: Jasprit Bumrah (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan.
Ireland: Andrew Balbirnie (captain), Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ross Adair, Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Fionn Hand, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Ben White, Craig Young, Theo van Weorkom.
(With PTI inputs)
