Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya‘s recurring injury problems will be on the agenda of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials during Thursday’s long-awaited review meeting at the board’s headquarters in Mumbai, according to a report. While Hardik has been out of action since the Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign earlier this year, Bumrah’s recurring injury problems have kept him out of the team since the white-ball tour of England, where he played two of the three ODIs as India lost the series.
On Thursday, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia will meet chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir, while VVS Laxman, the head of the Centre of Excellence (CoE), may also join them. The officials will discuss the injury crisis which is affecting the team’s 2027 World Cup preparations.
On Wednesday, the BCCI announced India’s squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, with Bumrah included, subject to clearance from the CoE. Hardik, on the other hand, did not find a place in the team.
According to a report in Dainik Jagran, the management and selectors have doubts about Hardik’s ability to complete his quota of overs in ODIs, which is why he wasn’t picked for the T20I series.
“Hardik Pandya’s fitness remains a concern for the team management. Reports say he can’t bowl more than five or six overs in ODIs. Hardik is crucial for the ODI World Cup, but his fitness continues to be a headache for the team management and selectors,” the report said.
In Bumrah’s case, the report added that Agarkar was not kept in the loop regarding Bumrah’s recovery and availability in the lead-up to the recently concluded tour of Sri Lanka.
“Just days before selecting the team for the Sri Lanka tour, even the chief selector didn’t know that Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t fit. He had even sent an email about this,” the report mentioned.
The ongoing fitness challenges in the senior men’s team were fully visible in Tuesday’s squad announcement for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. Bumrah, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Harshit Rana have been provisionally selected for the series to be played at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi from September 13-17.
(With IANS Inputs)