Speedsters Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah’s workload is expected to be a topic of discussion when the national selection committee headed by MSK Prasad meets this weekend to decide on the Indian squad for the Tri-Nation T20 meet in Sri Lanka from March 6 to 18.
Kohli to decide
Virat Kohli has also played all the matches in South Africa but his case will be slightly different from others as a decision on resting him will depend on the skipper himself.
“If Virat wants rest, he will get it. In Virat’s case, it’s he who decides on whether he would like to opt out or not. But you never know he might just want to play the T20 series as this is the last tourney of the season. Once the tournament is over, he will get a fortnight off before the Indian Premier League,” a top BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
When the chairman of selectors Prasad was asked on this matter, he refused to comment. But it is understood that fast bowling unit’s composition will be a topic of discussion as and when the selection meeting is held.
Bhuvi, Bumrah to rest?
However, Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah, who have been India’s star performers across formats, are likely to get a much-needed rest ahead of the long season that starts with the Indian Premier League.
Bhuvneshwar has bowled around 100 overs including the Test and ODI series. If he bowls his full quota in T20 Internationals, he will end up with 112 overs under his belt.
But no one would have bowled more than Bumrah, who is one of the three players apart from Kohli and Hardik Pandya to have played all the matches in the tour so far.
If Bumrah also bowls his full quota of overs in the three T20Is, he would have bowled more than 166 overs, which is a lot of overs in international cricket.
Taxing season ahead
With India set to play 63 international games including 30 ODIs in the coming season, a fit Bumrah is a priority for both the selectors and the team management.
In case, Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar are rested, Shardul Thakur and Jaydev Unadkat are expected to shoulder the responsibilities of new ball. Kerala’s yorker specialist Basil Thampi was in the reserves during the home T20 series against Sri Lanka and might just make a comeback in case either Bhuvneshwar or Bumrah or both are rested.
