Former India captain Virat Kohli and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant have been rested for the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. However, star pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja have made a comeback after being ruled out of the series against West Indies due to various reasons.
Both the senior players played in the first T20 match against Sri Lanka in Lucknow on Thursday, which India won by 62 runs. In the absence of injured KL Rahul, Bumrah has been named as the vice-captain for the series.
Former fast bowler Ashish Nehra expressed surprise over Bumrah’s inclusion in the squad for the T20I series. Nehra said in a conversation with Cricbuzz,
‘I am very surprised that Bumrah is playing in these three T20 Internationals. Of course every player wants to play, but after the T20 series there are two Test matches. More matches are yet to come. We have more options and other players need confidence over time as well,” said Ashish Nehra in a conversation with Cricbuzz.
Nehra also said that the inclusion of Bumrah will give limited opportunities to other players including veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who are finding their form and have done well against the West Indies.
“We are talking about players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar. You can give more match timings to Mohammad Siraj. So I am surprised that Bumrah is playing here,” Nehra added.
