3 reasons India can beat Sri Lanka despite Bumrah's absence

Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the upcoming two-match Test series between India and Sri Lanka after failing to recover from a left knee injury, which was aggravated during the ODI series in England.

India named the uncapped Auqib Nabi as Bumrah's injury replacement on the back of his sensational performances in the last two editions of the Ranji Trophy. However, Bumrah's absence is a major blow for India, especially because they can't afford any slip-ups against Sri Lanka, with World Test Championship (WTC) points at stake.

Will the void created by Bumrah's injury absence be too big for India to fill during the Test matches in Galle and Colombo? Let's take a look at three reasons as to why India can still beat the Lankan Lions in their backyard.

3 reasons India can beat Sri Lanka despite Bumrah's absence

3. Spinner-friendly pitches reduce fast-bowling dependance

The conditions in Sri Lanka are not going to aid fast bowlers too much. Spinners are expected to bowl most of the overs. India have picked four spin-bowling options in their line-up - Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja - and don't be surprised if all of them play together, at least in one of the games.

Unfortunately, India do not have a seam-bowling all-rounder in their setup in red-ball cricket. Had Nitish Kumar Reddy been fit, there would have been a possibility of him sharing the new ball with a specialist pacer, most likely, Mohammed Siraj.