Jasprit Bumrah fit, Harshit Rana out: BCCI sacks physio ahead of Afghanistan T20I

Jasprit Bumrah and Harshit Rana (Image credit: Agencies) NEW DELHI: The T20I team had its first training session at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Thursday afternoon ahead of the three-match series against Afghanistan starting on Sunday.After months of rehabilitation at the Center of Excellence (CoE), Jasprit Bumrah and Nitish Kumar Reddy have been declared fit to join the squad that will fly to Japan for the Asian Games two days after the series.Also on Thursday morning, the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) announced that Harshit Rana suffered another injury during his match simulation test at the CoE on Tuesday. Pacer Yash Thakur was appointed as his replacement.Recurring injuries have become a stumbling block for the team management and selection committee as they try to consolidate their preparations for next year’s ODI World Cup in South Africa.It has emerged that the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) has decided to sack Team India physio Kamlesh Jain due to frequent injuries. TOI had reported on August 6 that BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had pulled Jain due to a spate of injuries to top players.The depth of Indian cricket allows India to field multiple T20I teams. It is the ODI format that has become a headache for the team management.There has been some disagreement in BCCI circles over fielding a full-strength T20I squad for the Asiad while ODIs are lined up against the West Indies.Even as Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson went through their batting on the practice ground, head coach Gautam Gambhir was seen spending more time with T20I captain Shreyas Iyer and Washington Sundar – two integral members of the ODI squad – as they batted in the center square.When the ODI series against West Indies begins on September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram, Gambhir will be without ODI first-choice players like Bumrah, Iyer, Washington, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan and Reddy.It is not clear when all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be available even as he undergoes endless rehabilitation in the CoE.While it may seem like the World Cup is a year away, the number of ODIs are few and far between. The team management and selectors have left very little scope for strengthening the core ODI squad.Meanwhile, India’s fast bowling coach Morne Morkel is yet to join the team. Sources said he is yet to receive his visa renewal.

The first T20I to go ahead despite the traffic police’s demand to change the date

The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) said the first T20I on September 13 will go ahead as scheduled, even as the Delhi Traffic Police wrote a letter to the association asking for the match to be moved in light of the BRICS summit.In the letter, the DCP (traffic) said that the summit would require extensive traffic arrangements, including regulation of VVIP/VIP routes and deployment of personnel.However, DDCA later announced on X that the match was on.“The first T20I will go ahead as planned. After a meeting with the Delhi Traffic Police, the DDCA has been assured of all support,” the association said.