Ahead of the final match of the quadrangular series against South Africa A, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is expected to rejoin the India A team.
Due to ongoing fitness concerns, Kumar was unavailable for the first three Tests of the series in England, a series England currently leads 2-1. Furthermore, he wasn't included in the selection for the final Test announced by the committee last week.
Should he demonstrate that he is fully fit during the one-day match against South Africa A in Bengaluru, a call-up to the senior side remains a possibility.
Struggling with a long-term lower back injury, Kumar had to miss the T20 tri-series in Sri Lanka. This cautious approach extended to the 2018 IPL, where he sat out several games to manage his workload, and eventually resulted in him missing the one-off Test match against Afghanistan.
After missing the lone Test against Afghanistan and the first two ODIs in England, the team management decided to bring Kumar into the third ODI; unfortunately, this move only served to worsen his injury.
He has spent the past month undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
Despite losing the first two Tests at Lord’s and Edgbaston, India managed to keep the series hopeful by securing a commanding 203-run win at Trent Bridge.