Jasprit Bumrah likely to skip England white-ball series, targets Champions Trophy return

If there was even an ounce of doubt about Jasprit Bumrah being India's guaranteed match-winner, the Border Gavaskar Trophy erased that completely. The five-match Test series down under didn't stage many positives for India. However, Bumrah solely emerged as the highlight of India's performance against the Kangaroos. The seamer scalped 32 wickets across the five Tests, the most by any bowler in the series, and won the Player of the Series award, even though Australia claimed the BGT with a 3-1 margin. Bumrah is one of the rare players who possess similar prowess in the pace department across formats. In T20Is, the 31-year-old serves as the team's best prospect for taking early wickets. In the longer formats, he delivers equally remarkable results, as evidenced by his unmatched 13.06 average in the BGT.

Jasprit Bumrah set to miss the white-ball series against England at home

Jasprit Bumrah served as India's main prospect in the five-match series, bowling 151.2 overs in the BGT. While he remained seamless in his wicket-taking capabilities, the enhanced workload caught up with the seamer towards the end of the series, the Sydney Test. The last match witnessed Bumrah, also the captain of the side in the absence of Rohit Sharma, leaving the field midway on Day 2. Following scenes from the SCG showed the seamer leaving the venue to get his scans. Later, it was informed that Bumrah endured a back spasm in the match and subsequently missed Day 3 of the game when India lost by six wickets. As the series wrapped up, Jasprit Bumrah won the Player of the Series award, but there was no update about the severity of his injury.

Now, a recent update has suggested that the ace seamer is likely to sit out the home white-ball series against England. The report explains that based on the severity of his back injury, his workload will be planned accordingly. However, as a precautionary measure, the star bowler will miss the entirety of the England series. While it was anticipated that Bumrah would skip the five-match T20I series against the English team, the prediction was that the seamer would play the ODIs in preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy.

The India vs England series is slated to start on January 22, with the T20I series commencing first. The three-match ODI series, moreover, starts on February 6 in Nagpur. Meanwhile, the ICC Champions Trophy will kick off on February 20 for India when they face Bangladesh in Dubai. In all likelihood, Jasprit Bumrah, the top prospect in India's plan to win the coveted ICC trophy, will now directly play in the Champions Trophy.