By Karan Agrawal 
The uncertainty over India’s fast bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is still intact as the Rohit Sharma-led side gears up for the first ODI against England in Nagpur to be played on February 6. Bumrah picked up a back injury during the fifth and final test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy last month and was unable to bowl in Australia’s second innings. After bowling a couple of overs in the early stages of the second day’s play, the fast bowler left the ground and was taken for scans. He did come out to bat for India in the second innings but wasn’t able to make a significant contribution.
The Wait
Indian captain Rohit Sharma who came for the pre-match press conference provided an update about Bumrah’s fitness ahead of the Champions Trophy. “Jasprit, we are waiting on some update about his scans and stuff, which was due to happen in some days. Once we get that scan, we will be able to give you more clarity on where he stands right now,” he said. Following the concerns over Bumrah’s participation in the Champions Trophy the selectors have removed him from the squad for the ODI series against England and have added Varun Chakarvarthy rewarding him for his match-winning performances in the recently concluded T20I series against the same opposition.
The Call
Another call that the captain and the management have to make is to choose between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant as the first-choice wicketkeeper. Although Rahul kept wickets during the 2023 ODI World Cup held in India many experts believe that it was due to the unavailability of Rishabh Pant who met with an accident in December 2022 which ruled him out for one and a half years from the sport. Now that Rishab is back in the ODI setup the duo of Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir has to make the tough call of picking either Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul in the playing XI.
Captain’s Corner
When asked about who will the team management pick between the two Rohit Sharma said the decision will be taken keeping in mind the requirement of the team. “Obviously, KL has been keeping wickets for us in the ODI format for a number of years now, and he has done pretty well. If you look at the last 10-15 ODIs, he has done exactly what the team required him to do. Rishabh is also there. We have an option of playing either one of them. Both are capable of winning games for us, so it is a good headache to have. But looking at the past, continuity is also very important for us. That is where we stand as a team,” he said.