Bumrah bowls in full-squad practice as India step up Afghan T20I preparations

Jasprit Bumrah (PTI Photo)

Jasprit Bumrah was back in the thick of India’s preparations on Friday as the full squad took part in a training session ahead of the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.The session started quietly, with the players going through a light warm-up before moving into fielding drills. Ten players were then split into two groups of five, with the players working in pairs and taking turns trying to hit the stumps.

The intensity picked up once the team moved to the nets. Two nets were in use, with the spinners operating at one end and the seamers at the other.Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer spent time facing the spin group, which included Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi. At the other net, Sanju Samson and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi faced the pace attack, with Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Bumrah among those bowling.Axar and Shivam Dube later got their opportunity with the bat, with a few bowlers from Delhi also stepping in to help India get through the evening net session.

The only worrying moment came when Ishan Kishan faced Navdeep Saini. The left-hander tried to duck under a rising delivery, but appeared to get caught awkwardly and went down clutching his lower back.

He was immediately looked at by the physio.After spending some time with the medical staff, Kishan was able to walk off the ground on his own. He did not appear to be in obvious discomfort as he left the practice area.The session was part of India's build-up to their T20I series against Afghanistan. The two sides will meet on September 13, 15 and 17, with all three games to take place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.