Asia Cup 2023: Bumrah's return adds firepower to Indian side ahead of the Super 4 showdown against Pakistan

Jasprit Bumrah has made a triumphant return to the Indian cricket team after briefly stepping away from his Asia Cup commitments to celebrate the birth of his first child. Arriving in Colombo early on Friday, Bumrah's comeback comes just in the nick of time for India's inaugural Super 4 clash against arch-rivals Pakistan scheduled for Sunday.

Following India's initial match against Pakistan on September 2, Bumrah had promptly left Sri Lanka, rendering him unavailable for the team's subsequent league encounter against Nepal on September 4. Nevertheless, his reintegration into the squad aligns perfectly with India's first Super 4 fixture.

On Friday evening, Bumrah will rejoin his teammates for a practice session at the R Premadasa Stadium. Given the anticipation of wet weather, the Indian squad may be constrained to practicing indoors, as they did on Thursday, unless the weather conditions improve later in the evening, in line with recent patterns. Fortunately, there has been no rain reported in Colombo since the morning on Friday (at the time of this update), offering hope for a productive net session in the evening.

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Regrettably, the weather forecast for the upcoming week does not seem promising, with Colombo, the capital city, anticipating heavy rainfall. Sunday, the day of the highly-awaited India-Pakistan encounter, has a staggering 90 percent chance of rain, posing potential disruptions to the match. Similarly, on Saturday, during Sri Lanka's second Super 4 match against Bangladesh, an 85 percent chance of precipitation looms large. Weather conditions are poised to exert a significant influence as the championship approaches its crucial stages.