Due to the delivery of his first child, Jasprit Bumrah has rejoined the Indian team after a brief hiatus from Asia Cup obligations. He arrived in Colombo early on Friday, just in time for Sunday’s Super 4 opener between India and Pakistan. His presence coincides with the announcement of a reserve day for the forthcoming crucial match by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
Due to the incessant rain in Colombo, the ACC has made the correct decision to designate a reserve day for Sunday’s match. In the event of inclement weather on the scheduled day, the game will continue on Monday from where it left off. Due to back-to-back games, no reserve days have been allocated for the other Super 4 matches, but the final will have a reserve day in case of rain.
Bumrah had departed Sri Lanka promptly following India’s first match against Pakistan on September 2, causing him to miss the second league match against Nepal on September 4. His return, however, coincides with the team’s first Super 4 contest.
Bumrah will join the squad for practice at the R Premadasa Stadium on Friday evening. The Indian team may be forced to practice indoors, as they did on Thursday, if the weather does not improve later in the evening, as has been the recent pattern. Since Friday morning (at the time of publication), there has been no rain in Colombo, raising expectations for a productive evening practice.
The forecast for the upcoming week is not very optimistic, as Colombo is predicted to experience torrential rainfall, including a 90 percent probability of precipitation on Sunday. This explains why the ACC scheduled a reserve day for such an important match. Recall that the India-Pakistan league match had to be abandoned due to rain.
On Saturday, there is an 85 percent probability of precipitation during Sri Lanka’s second Super 4 match against Bangladesh. As the championship enters its decisive phase, the weather is expected to play a major role.
India will play Sri Lanka on September 12 followed by Bangladesh three days later on September 15. Pakistan and Sri Lanka will play the final Super 4 match on September 14, preceding the final on September 17. All of these contests will occur at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
