Just minutes before the second ODI between India and Australia begins, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah will not feature in the match to be played at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.
Bumrah has been in trouble since returning to the Indian team during the Ireland tour.
While Pacer has performed well at different levels, keeping him in rhythm is crucial for Team India’s ODI World Cup plans.
But Bumrah was ruled out of the second match after India won the first ODI convincingly against Australia. But this is not due to injury.
BCCI confirmed that Bumrah will have to meet his family and will be exempt from playing in the Indore match. However, the board also confirmed that the tempo will return in the third ODI as well.
“Mr. Jasprit Bumrah did not go to Indore with the team for the second ODI against Australia. He went to see his family and took a short break from team management.
Fast bowler Mukesh Kumar joined the team as Bumrah’s second substitute in the ODI. Bumrah said Will be with the team for the last ODI in Rajkot,” BCCI tweeted ahead of the second ODI shootout.
While Mukesh Kumar came in as Bumrah’s replacement in the squad, Prasidh Krishna took his place in the playing XI. It was Australia’s stand-in skipper, Steve Smith, who won the toss and opted to bowl first.
“We’ll bowl. It’s pretty warm. Looks like a nice wicket, fancy chasing. If it (dew) comes in, it’ll help while chasing. We want to win but also try out a different combination. We’ve got a few changes,” he said.
KL Rahul, India’s skipper for the series, said that he would’ve opted to bowl too. “We would have bowled first as well, considering the size of the ground.
Good wicket good challenge to put runs on the board. We only have one change from the last game. Jasprit is rested, and Prasidh comes in. Good for all our batters to spend some time in the middle,” he said at the time of toss.