Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah finally makes his return to Team India squad after three-month layoff

Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah was on Tuesday added to India's ODI squad for the three games against Sri Lanka after National Cricket Academy declared him fit for home series beginning January 10.

Bumrah last played for India in September and had also missed the T20 World Cup in Australia due to a back injury.

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has included pacer Jasprit Bumrah in India’s ODI squad for the upcoming Mastercard 3-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.

"The pacer has undergone rehabilitation and has been declared fit by the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He will be joining the Team India ODI squad soon," said the BCCI in a statement.

The first ODI will be played in Guwahati on January 10, second in Kolkata on January 12 and third in Trivandrum on January 15.

With the focus on 50-over cricket in an ODI World Cup year, it is unlikely that Bumrah will feature in the shortest format till the ICC event at home in October-November.

His IPL workload too would be monitored closely by the NCA, as well as other "targeted" India players for the ODI World Cup.

One of the best in the business, Bumrah is vital to India's chances at the mega event as they look to win the coveted trophy for the second time at home after 2011.

Having made his India debut in 2016, the 29-year-old has represented the country in 30 Tests, 72 ODIs and 60 T20Is.

Experts including the great Michael Holding find Bumrah injury-prone as he generates serious pace with a short-run up.

“My problem with Bumrah, and I mentioned it to him when last time I saw him in England, is how long that body will hold up with that short run and the amount of effort he has to put into in his bowling, it is a human body. It is not a machine,” Holding had said back in 2020.

India’s updated squad for Sri Lanka ODIs: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.