India are without the services of former captain Virat Kohli and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant for the ongoing three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. However, star pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja are back in the mix after missing the series against West Indies due to various reasons. Both the senior players featured in the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Lucknow on Thursday which India won by 62 runs. Bumrah was named vice-captain for the series due to the absence of KL Rahul, who is injured. Ahead of the start of the first T20I, former India pacer Ashish Nehra was “surprised” to see Bumrah’s inclusion in the team for the series.

“I am very surprised that Bumrah is playing in these three T20Is. Every player wants to play, no doubt, but we have two Tests following the T20I series. There are more matches to come. We have more options and other players need game time, as well as confidence,” Nehra said during an interaction on Cricbuzz.

Nehra also said that the inclusion of Bumrah would see limited opportunities for other players, including veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has been trying to find his form, and had a decent outing against the West Indies.

“We have talked about the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. You can give more game time to Mohammed Siraj; Avesh Khan has also played just one match so far. The moment Bumrah comes back, one of these players will have to miss out. So I’m surprised he (Bumrah) is playing here,” he added

Bumrah bowled 3 overs for 19 runs on Thursday. India’s comfortable victory was based on Ishan Kishan’s blistering 89-run knock and a swashbuckling 57 from Shreyas Iyer. Defending 199, the Indian bowlers were on the money right from the word go with Bhuvneshwar Kumar striking in the first ball of the Sri Lanka innings. Kumar picked up another wicket while all-rounders Venkatesh Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja too chipped in with important scalps.

India restricted Sri Lanka to 137 for six and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.