Jadeja all set for return to India, Kohli may skip SL T20Is

 

 

Ravindra Jadeja is all set for India return. He has been out of action since the first India-New Zealand Test late November 2021 in Kanpur and will be part of the series against Sri Lanka.It is certain that he will be included in the squad for the two-Test series that follows, but if all goes well, he could well be playing the three Twenty20 Internationals that precede the two-Test series.

 

Jadeja, who was undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore till recently, has reached Lucknow already, where the first of the three Twenty20 games will be played, on February 24. He is undergoing quarantine in a Lucknow hotel as per the sources. He has been undergoing Coid tests and he could be part of the Twenty20 squad if he returns negative.

 

Jasprit Bumrah is also expected to stage a comeback. Both Jadeja and Bumrah were left out of the on-going white-ball series against West Indies, for different reasons. The Board of Control for Cricket in India had said on January 26 that Bumrah was rested for West Indies series along with Mohammed Shami and Jadeja, it said, was “undergoing his final stage of recovery post his knee injury and will not be available for the ODIs and T20Is (vs West Indies).”

 

It is likely that Rohit Sharma will be made the captain, making him the skipper for all formats.

 

There is also a chance that Kohli will be given a break for the Twenty20 series.

 

However, he may return for the Tests, which means his 100th Test could be in Mohali, where the first India-Sri Lanka Test will be played from March 3. If he opts for an extended break, his 100th Test could be in Bangalore, the venue of the second and final Test.