India’s star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who has been out of action at the international level since September 2022 due to back issues and missed the T20 World Cup, Bangladesh tour and the home series versus Sri Lanka and New Zealand, is not part of either the Test or the ODI team. He is likely to make a comeback in the IPL beginning March 31. Fans on social media were left furious with the pacer alleging that he is not serious for international cricket and only likes to play the Indian Premier League.
Checkout the reactions below:
Jasprit Bumrah’s WhatsApp Status:
No International Cricket, IPL Only.#INDvAUS #BorderGavaskarTrophy— Varun Verma (@iam_triplev) February 19, 2023
How is it possible that Bumrah is missing in ODI squad yet he will be available immediately for the IPL that starts a few days after ODI series. Clearly shows lack of commitment for international cricket — Arun Gandhi (@mainhoongandhi) February 19, 2023
IPL will play a lot of trolls because a player like Bumrah is very unfair. But durbhagyavash ab haqeeqat hi wahi hai https://t.co/J3ZX67zq9X— Mohith (@mohith0710) February 19, 2023
Bumrah ko Kasam se troll karne ka man krta hai,Literally vo abhi sidha ipl me ayega, I hope Vo ipl k baad injured na ho jaye ! — (@Prathmesh_45Fan) February 19, 2023
Bumrah will play IPL matlab direct sahi troll hota hai ye https://t.co/AIRoH276jiAditya (@iam_adi_thebest) February 19, 2023
If Bumrah is indeed unfit then will never forgive MI if they make him play full IPL only for him to be injured in WTC and WC. BCCI and NCA have blood on their hands the way the whole saga has turned out https://t.co/9EBbbXAtTw— Kutreya Saaleya (@KKutreya) February 19, 2023
Coming to the India opener KL Rahul on Sunday kept his place in the Test team for the remaining two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as the selectors announced an unchanged squad following the six-wicket win over Australia in Delhi. (READ: ‘Don’t be Partial,’ Fans Slam Management for Selecting KL Rahul Ahead of Sarfaraz Khan for Remaining Tests)
With Shubman Gill warming the bench, Rahul’s scores so far in the series read 20, 17 and 1. The opener also endured a lean run in Bangladesh last year when he led the side in the two-Test series.
Interestingly, he was the designated vice-captain for the first two Tests against Australia but no deputy to Rohit Sharma has been named for the last two games. The third Test will be played in Indore from March 1 and the fourth in Ahmedabad from March 9. (READ: KL Rahul Sacked as Vice-Captain of Team India, BCCI Announce Squad for IND vs AUS last 2 Test)
Besides naming the Test squad, the four selectors, following the unceremonious exit of selection committee chief Chetan Sharma, also picked the team for the three ODIs against Australia beginning March 17.
Seasoned left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat, who was part of the squad for the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy before being released to represent Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy final against Bengal, is back in the team for the remaining two games.
The Saurashtra skipper also finds himself in the ODI squad for the three-match series against Australia. He last played an ODI back in 2013, but the selectors have shown faith in the veteran, highlighting the lack of quality left-arm pacers in the country.
The much younger Arshdeep Singh was tried in ODIs recently but has not made the cut for the Australia series. (India’s Squad for Australia ODI Series Announced, Hardik Pandya Named Captain for First Match)
The BCCI release also stated that Rohit would be unavailable for the first ODI due to family commitments and Hardik Pandya would lead the side in his absence.
As far as the out-of-form Rahul is concerned, head coach Rahul Dravid said that the team management would like to give him a longer run. Following the win at Kotla on Sunday, skipper Rohit also backed the under-fire Rahul.
“Of late, there has been a lot of talk on his batting. But for us as team management, we always look at the potential of any individual, not just KL. I have been asked in the past about a lot of players. If a guy has potential, guys will get that extended run,” Rohit said.
“It is not just about KL, but anyone. If you look at couple of hundreds, he got outside India (England 2021 and SA 2022), one of the best I have seen from KL, especially the one at the Lord’s,” he added.
From the last ODI squad picked for the New Zealand series, Shahbaz Ahmed and KS Bharat are the expected omissions. Ishan Kishan is the designated wicket-keeper in the 50-over squad and not Rahul, as per the BCCI release.
India’s Test squad for third and fourth Test against Australia: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.
India’s ODI squad for series against Australia: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Jaydev Unadkat. (With PTI inputs)