Bumrah's injury tempers return of stalwarts for ODIs against Sri Lanka

Jasprit Bumrah’s return has been delayed further after he failed to recover completely from the stress fracture in the lower back

India were left with a mixed feeling on the eve of their ODI series against Sri Lanka as on one hand they will have stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returning to the side while on the other, unfit pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will yet again miss the action.

Bumrah was expected to bolster the bowling attack in the three-match series commencing here on Tuesday, but his return has been delayed further after he failed to recover completely from the stress fracture in the lower back, which has seen him miss several assignments including the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup.

There is now a question mark over whether the pace spearhead will be available for the white-ball home series against New Zealand beginning on January 18, and whether he will be in contention for the four-Test Border-Gavaskar series commencing on February 9.

With India set to host the ODI World Cup in October-November this year, Bumrah's last-minute exclusion is only adding to the mystery surrounding the pace bowler's recovery and rehabilitation process.

The return of old guards Rohit, Kohli and KL Rahul and also Shreyas Iyer, though, will give the hosts a huge boost as they eye the series after clinching the T20Is against Sri Lanka.

India have a packed ODI calendar -- 15 matches excluding the Asia Cup -- in the 10-month window in the build-up to the World Cup in October-November and the key will be to not just get the balance right but also manage the workload in the midst of the Indian Premier League and the highly-anticipated Australia Test series.

But another injury scare to Bumrah has thrown the spanner in the works of the team management.