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The Times of India
The Times of India
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TIMESOFINDIA.COM

Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of ODI series against Sri Lanka due to 'stiff back'

NEW DELHI: India pacer Jasprit Bumrah was on Monday ruled out of the three-match one-day international (ODI) series against Sri Lanka due to failure to recover fully from the lower back stress fracture, further delaying his return to action.

Bumrah complained of "stiff back" during the last two net sessions at the NCA before he was supposed to fly to Guwahati for the first ODI.

Bumrah was named in the squad for the series, starting Tuesday, but the BCCI's support staff and medical team have collectively decided that his "return to play" should be pushed back, keeping the all-important Border Gavaskar Trophy in mind.

"Team India pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the upcoming 3-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. Bumrah, who was set to join the team in Guwahati ahead of the ODI series, will need some more time to build bowling resilience. This decision has been taken as a precautionary measure," the BCCI said in a statement.

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has not named any replacement for Jasprit Bumrah," added the BCCI.

Skipper Rohit Sharma termed it as "unfortunate", and said: "It's a very unfortunate incident with him. The poor guy (Bumrah) has been working really hard at the NCA for all this time. Just when he got back to his full fitness, when he started bowling and everything, in the last two days I think this incident happened where he felt a little bit of stiffness in his back."

However, the skipper informed that it was "nothing major" and more of a safety measure.

"It's just a stiffness, when Bumrah says anything you have to be very cautious about it. That is what we did, I thought it was very important to make that decision then -- just pull him out. When we named him (Bumrah) he was in the process of getting his workload done, he was bowling at the nets. We need to be very careful with him. He had a major injury before the World Cup," Rohit elaborated.

On January 3 the BCCI had mailed that the NCA medical team had declared the pacer "fit" and he would join the team for the Lanka series. But the ace pacer was ruled out on the eve of the first ODI.

It will be interesting to see if Bumrah recovers to compete against New Zealand in the ODI series, starting January 18.

Bumrah sustained a lower back stress fracture post England tour and missed the Asia Cup last year.

To improve the team's chances at the T20 World Cup, Bumrah was rushed to the T20 side during a home series against Australia, where he broke down once again and was ruled out for an indefinite period.

It will not be a surprise if Bumrah does not play the entire four-match Border Gavaskar Trophy, starting February 9. He is expected to be used sparingly as he would be needed for the marquee ODI World Cup at home later this year.

(With inputs from PTI)

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