Asia Cup 2023: Jasprit Bumrah to miss India-Nepal clash after flying back to Mumbai due to personal reasons

Jasprit Bumrah is set to miss India’s upcoming clash against Nepal in the 2023 Asia Cup, with the India pacer set to fly back to Mumbai due to personal reasons.

Bumrah was part of the Indian playing XI during their opening game of the Asia Cup against Pakistan on Saturday. He did not, however, get to bowl a single delivery to the Babar Azam-led side as heavy rain in Pallekele ensured the match ended in a washout after India were bowled out for 266.

According to a report on News18 CricketNext, Bumrah is heading back to Mumbai to be with his wife Sanjana Ganesan for the birth of his child. The report made it amply clear that Bumrah’s leave of absence was not due to any injury concerns.

“Yes, Bumrah is heading to Mumbai for personal reasons. It is not an injury concern or anything else and he will rejoin the squad for the Super 4 stage of the tournament,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying in the report.

In Bumrah’s absence, senior pacer Mohammed Shami is expected to lead the Indian attack against Nepal, who are making their Asia Cup debut this year. Bumrah, though, is not ruled out of the remainder of the tournament, and is expected to be available for selection in the Super Four stage of the tournament.

Shami had been benched in India’s opening game against Pakistan on Saturday, with the Rohit Sharma-led Men in Blue picking Siraj as Bumrah’s new-ball partner and bolstering their batting line-up by including Shardul Thakur as their second seam-bowling all-rounder. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav had been picked as the frontline spin options.

Bumrah had recently made his long-awaited return to action after a year-long absence due to a back injury during the T20I tour of Ireland, in which he led a second-string Indian side to a 2-0 series win. Besides Bumrah, fellow seamer Prasidh Krishna too made a comeback from a long absence due to a back injury.

Read | Bumrah returns with slightly increased run-up, bigger follow-through

Bumrah had undergone a back surgery in New Zealand in March during his time away from the game, and had undergone extensive rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru before making his comeback.