India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is set to miss the two-Test series in Sri Lanka that begins in Galle on August 15, after failing to recover fully from a left knee problem.
The Daily Mirror, carrying a Times of India report, said Bumrah continues to feel discomfort in the knee following an assessment at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, and that those involved have decided it is not safe to bring him back into cricket before he has recovered completely.
The 32-year-old was advised by the BCCI medical team to take an injection for the knee, which flared up during the closing stages of the T20 World Cup. He received it last month as scheduled, but full recovery is taking longer than anticipated.
According to the report, there was some discussion about getting him ready in time for the second Test in Colombo, but the medical team at the Centre of Excellence was unwilling to take the risk. The plan had always been to allow a longer than usual recovery period, and Bumrah was never scheduled to join the squad assembling in Mumbai on August 3 ahead of its August 4 departure.
The report named Auqib Nabi as the front-runner to replace him. The 29-year-old Jammu and Kashmir seamer took six wickets in two India A fixtures in Sri Lanka last month. India’s pace attack for the series is expected to be led by Mohammed Siraj, alongside Prasidh Krishna and Gurnoor Brar.
A fitness call flagged at selection
Bumrah’s availability had been in doubt from the moment the squad was named. When India announced the touring party on July 28, ESPNcricinfo reported that both Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan had been included subject to fitness clearance. Sunday’s news resolves that question against him.
The absence removes the world’s most consequential Test bowler from a series Sri Lanka will host across two venues. The first Test runs at Galle from August 15 to 19, with the second at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo from August 23 to 27. India arrive on August 4, with a three-day warm-up fixture in Colombo from August 7.
Both matches count towards the ICC World Test Championship 2025–2027 cycle.
The BCCI had not issued a formal statement on Bumrah’s withdrawal or named a replacement at the time of writing.
