Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel Complete Rehab at NCA, Set to Return for T20 World Cup

Days after the Asia Cup debacle, Team India finds some respite as Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel are set to return for the T20 World Cup. Both didn’t feature in the Asian multi-nation tournament due to injuries. While Harshal suffered a side strain, Bumrah was out of action since July due to a back injury. The BCCI announced that the duo is under rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. But now, they seem to have regained fitness and are ready to make a comeback.

According to a Cricbuzz report, Bumrah and Harshal have bowled normally at the NCA recently and have finished their rehab. However, in order to accommodate them, two places are required to be vacated. The current Asia Cup squad initially had three spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravi Bishnoi. Jadeja eventually got ruled out with a knee injury and was replaced by Axar Patel. Similarly, four pacers were named in the beginning.

Also Read: Shadab Khan Rising to the Occasion Silently in Asia Cup 2022

Bumrah, and Harshal are all set to come back in T20 Squad

The quartet included Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya. Later, Deepak Chahar replaced Avesh but the former’s inclusion came after India were knocked out of the tournament. In most likelihood, the axe would fall over Bishnoi and Avesh. But at the same time, Mohammad Shami is also in the fray whose non-selection for the Asia Cup invited criticism for the selectors from fans and experts.

Chetan Sharma and his team will have to look after the progress of Bumrah and Harshal in the upcoming home T20Is against South Africa and Australia at home before making the final decision. Meanwhile, Jadeja is completely out of reckoning as he recently underwent knee surgery. Axar could be an automatic selection but then again, the selectors will have to deal with Deepak Hooda. Also, a call has to be taken if India need two wicketkeepers for the tournament and if not, then who shall be in from Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik?