Jasprit Bumrah starts bowling in NCA nets; could be back for India's last two Tests vs Australia: Reports

Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah has started bowling in the nets at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. According to reports from the Times of India, Bumrah could be back in the mix for India's last two Tests against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy beginning next week.

Bumrah has been out of action for India since September last year with a back injury. Although he was slated to make a comeback in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, the pacer complained of back pain and was withdrawn from the squad.

However, a source has told TOI that Jasprit Bumrah is shaping up well, and if he doesn't complain of back pain, he could make it to the squad for the final two Tests. The source said:

"Yes, Bumrah has started bowling in the nets. Let's hope all goes well and he's declared fit."

---

Shreyas Iyer could be fit for India's first Test: Reports

While there have been several reports of Shreyas Iyer being ruled out of the first Test in Nagpur, TOI has reported that the right-hander may just recover in time. Iyer was ruled out of the New Zealand ODIs due to a back injury.

However, a source told TOI that it is just a stiff back and that Iyer should recover before the first test on February 9. The source stated:

"There's very much a possibility that he will recover, as the first Test starts only on February 9 (in Nagpur). He's suffering from a stiff back, not a major problem. He will try his level best to be fit for the series. No one ruled him out yet-certainly not the BCCI's medical team at NCA"

---

Test squad for the first two Tests against Australia: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.