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The India National Cricket Team has still not received a clear return date for Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, as both stars continue their recovery at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
However, Prince Yadav has recovered from his hamstring niggle and is now fit and available for selection. The 24-year-old suffered the injury while bowling in the second T20I against Zimbabwe. Amid this, Dinesh Karthik was advised to reject the CSK head coach role.
Jasprit Bumrah still not cleared for Afghanistan T20Is
While Prince Yadav has now completed his recovery and is expected to be considered for the upcoming West Indies series, India’s premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and star all-rounder Hardik Pandya are yet to get the green signal for international cricket.
Bumrah is currently managing a left-knee issue, because of which he missed the recent two-match Test series in Sri Lanka. The fast bowler has been training at the BCCI Centre of Excellence facility and is slowly working on his strength.
But Bumrah is still not ready for a full competitive workload, according to reports by Sports Tak. There is no fixed timeline for the Indian fast bowler’s return, which means he is unlikely for the Afghanistan series. Interestingly, the selectors have not picked the squad for the Afghanistan T20Is yet.
Hardik Pandya’s India return still unclear
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya is also going through rehabilitation after facing quadriceps and back problems, followed by a calf niggle. He has been training at the BCCI CoE along with Bumrah and other players. The all-rounder’s condition continues to be monitored as reported by Sports Tak.
Hardik had earlier completed his return-to-play process and was expected to be available for white-ball cricket from August. However, there is still no fresh update about his comeback. Amid this, Suryakumar Yadav makes honest admission about his ODI career.
Virat Kohli loses to Jasprit Bumrah as Ravichandran Ashwin makes bold pick
On the other hand, former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has selected the greatest Indian men’s cricketer across formats. During an ESPNcricinfo discussion, Ashwin had to choose between Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah in the quarter-final of the debate.
Despite Kohli’s huge achievements in Test cricket and across all three formats, Ashwin has picked Bumrah. The former off-spinner admitted that the decision was not easy, but Bumrah’s impact across formats eventually gave him the edge.
'Maybe there's a bit of partiality'
Ashwin also admitted that his choice could have been influenced by his own experience and understanding as a bowler. The decision has certainly added an interesting twist to the debate, with Bumrah beating Kohli in Ashwin’s star-studded bracket.
Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Ashwin said, “Goodness gracious me. Test cricket. Virat is an absolute legend. He's done so well. It's one tournament. I'll go with Jasprit Bumrah, man. Maybe there's a bit of partiality. I'll pick Jasprit Bumrah.”
The former Indian all-rounder also faced a tough choice between MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja. Ashwin admitted that he was strongly tempted to pick Jadeja, his long-time spin partner for India. He added, “Oh, my goodness. Dhoni vs Ravindra Jadeja. Very tempting to go to Jadeja.”
