Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami to be rotated in ODIs and T20s against Australia?

India’s premier pace bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami could be rotated in the upcoming ODI and T20I series as India prepare for the crucial four-Test series against Australia Down Under.

The two-month tour will begin with three ODIs and as many T20Is with the six white-ball games to be played between November 27 to December 8 in Sydney and Canberra.

According to top sources in BCCI, the Indian team management is keen to manage the workload of their premier fast bowling duo in the shorter formats. 

Head coach Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun are already sweating on the availability of Ishant Sharma, who is recuperating at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. 

Although the lanky pacer has started bowling full tilt, question marks still remain if he can recover in time to land for the first Test in Adelaide from the 17th of December.

That makes Bumrah and Shami even more vital for India’s plans. As such, the management would be averse to risking another injury to a major player and will not be risking playing them in six back-to-back matches in 12 days.

Furthermore, if they play the T20Is, the duo will have one warm-up match less as the Indians have a warm-up game overlapping their international matches.

As per a source in the knowhow of the Indian team management think-tank: “If both (Bumrah and Shami) play the T20 Internationals (on Dec 4, 6 and 8), then they will have one warm-up match less which I don’t think the team management will fancy at this moment.”

Even in the net sessions so far, Shami is seen bowling with the red and pink ones primarily, highlighting where the team management is more likely to use him.

There is every chance that Bumrah and Shami play the ODIs and then sit out the T20Is and instead get involved in the warm-up games to get some overs under the belt before the Tests.

In fact, the pink ball warm-up game at the SCG from December 11-13 is expected to feature the likely Indian XI for the first Test making it a full-dress rehearsal.

The news about Bumrah and Shami’s proposed rotation could be music to the likes of Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini and T Natarajan. 

The troika is yet to cement their places in the Indian T20 side and this could be a very good opportunity to do so. And in the case of Natarajan, it would be a perfect platform to build up from his IPL exploits earlier in this season.