NEW DELHI: After losing Jasprit Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan due to injuries, it has emerged that there’s a big question mark over Washington Sundar’s availability for the second Test. The selectors had picked Washington only for the second Test since he is recovering from a hamstring injury.TOI understands that the Centre of Excellence (CoE) and Indian team management would want to exercise caution with Washington after the spate of injuries in the team. “At this moment, the chances of Washington going to Sri Lanka are very slim. The team management has been told to plan accordingly. The BCCI medical team is wary of pushing him into a Test match. There have been a few instances where players have broken down immediately after recovering from an injury,” a BCCI source told TOI.“Washington was picked only for the second Test knowing it will be touch-and-go for him to gain full fitness. He hasn’t played much after sustaining the injury in England last month. His workload is being carefully increased,” the source added.It is learnt that the selectors are unlikely to name a replacement if Washington is officially ruled out. The selectors have already named a 15-member squad. “Washington will be the 16th member if links up with the team. It needs to be assessed if it will be worthwhile to send him for a Test match without any game time. A thorough assessment will be done next week which will include how the team is placed in Sri Lanka,” the source said.No timeline for Bumrah, Akash Deep yetTOI has also learnt that the medical team at the CoE hasn’t set any timeline for the return of pacers Bumrah and Akash Deep. Bumrah is nursing a knee injury which he suffered in England last month while Akash Deep has been out of action from Jan due to a stress fracture in the back.“The CoE was working on increasing Bumrah’s workload before the Test series in Sri Lanka. It was felt that he would not be ready in time. It has been a long time since he has bowled in longer formats for a while. The CoE is very careful about him. They haven’t given any timeline on him. Anyway, Indian cricket may have to now start getting ready for life without Bumrah especially in the longer formats after next year,” the source said.“For Akash Deep, the CoE’s target was to get him cricket fit by the Sri Lanka tour. That hasn’t happened. Now, they haven’t communicated any timeline to the team management and the selection committee. It’s not easy to come back from a back injury. The team management hopes that he will be available for the tour of New Zealand which will be very crucial. It will be a boost for the team if both Bumrah and Akash are available for the two Tests in New Zealand,” the source added.
