Jasprit Bumrah is all set to rejoin India Squad ahead of the IND vs ENG 5th Test. India’s vice-captain has been rested for the fourth Test in Ranchi in the view of managing the workload given his tight schedule which includes IPL followed by the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.
Bumrah is breathing fire as during the first three matches of the Test series he returned with figures of 17 wickets at a 13.64. He was replaced by Bengal seamer Akash Deep in India’s XI for the Ranchi Test. India also has Mohammed Siraj and Mukesh Kumar available in their squad to pick for the Dharamsala match with the pitch expecting to favor fats bowlers.
KL Rahul will continue to stay absent in the IND vs ENG 5th Test
On the other hand, KL Rahul has been officially ruled out of the fifth Test after not recovering from a quadricep injury encountered after the opening Test in Hyderabad. As per the reports, KL Rahul was sent to London for an expert opinion.
KL Rahul’s issue emerged from the pain in his right quadriceps for which he underwent surgery in 2023. There is still some stiffness in his quadricep & given his importance to the team & the dual roles which he fulfills the BCCI selectors & team management are hesitant to take any risk with him.
Meanwhile, Washington Sundar has been released from the squad to go play in the Ranji Trophy semifinal fixture for Tamil Nadu against Mumbai, starting on March 2. If needed, Sundar will rejoin the Test squad in Dharamsala after the completion of the domestic fixture.
BCCI released Central Contracts for the 2023-24 season
Meanwhile, BCCI has announced Central Contracts for the 2023-24 season & youngsters were rewarded in the newly announced central contracts. Virat, Rohit, Bumrah & and Jadeja continue to be on the A+ list. While Siraj, Gill & Rahul have been elevated to the A contracts list. Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, and Mohammed Shami have been retained in Grade A. On the other hand, Yashasvi Jaiswal has been rewarded with a B Grade contract. Players like Shreyas Iyer & Ishan Kishan have been excluded from the contracts list.
Debutants Sarfaraz & Jurel will automatically get included in the contracts list if they get the chance to play in the fifth Test. This is because players who feature in a minimum of 3 Tests 8 ODIs or 10 T20Is from October 1 2023 to September 2024 will be automatically included in the Grade C category on a pro-rata basis.
BCCI has also made a strategic move of introducing contracts for fast bowlers emphasizing the need to foster fast bowling in Indian Cricket.
India’s updated squad for the 5th Test:
Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep.
Also read, BCCI Announced Changes in India Squad for Dharamshala Test
