India Tour of Ireland: Jasprit Bumrah to lead 15-member T20I squad on his comeback

Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah will lead the Indian team when he marks his return against Ireland in the three-match T20I series announced the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Monday. Rituraj Gaikwad has been named as vice-captain for the series.

Bumrah had been receiving rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy for some time after having back surgery in New Zealand. The 29-year-old had been sidelined due to a persistent back issue since September 2022, when he made his final appearance for India during the T20I bilateral series against Australia at home.

The issue resurfaced during India’s tour of England in July 2022, resulting in a two-month absence from cricket. Bumrah missed the T20 World Cup in Australia due to another back injury sustained during the India-South Africa series.

The pacer was added to India’s squad for the ODI series against Sri Lanka in January after being cleared by the NCA. However, the BCCI pulled him out of the series following which he underwent surgery in New Zealand. As a result, Bumrah was unavailable for IPL 2023 and for the World Test Championship Final last month.

Additionally, Karnataka pacer Prasidh Krishna has also been added to the team by the selectors. Before having surgery for a stress fracture, the right-arm quick made his last appearance for India in an ODI match against Zimbabwe in August of last year.

On July 21, the Board had provided a medical update on Burma and Krishna’s fitness saying: “The two fast bowlers are in the final stages of their rehab and are bowling with full intensity in the nets. The duo will now play some practice games, which the NCA will organise.”

Squad: Jasprit Bumrah (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan