Team India won’t have it too easy bowling-wise in the absence of ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah, feels former captain Sourav Ganguly.

Bumrah, who returned to the Indian squad for the ODIs against Sri Lanka after a long injury lay-off, was again ruled out after failing to recover fully from the lower-back stress fracture.

“If he (Bumrah) doesn’t play, there will be problems as he is such an important asset,” Sourav said on the sidelines of his visit to Eden Gardens on Tuesday evening.

“But fast bowlers will get injured at some point, so you will have to wait for him to recover,” Sourav, also the immediate past president of the BCCI, added.

Was Bumrah’s rehabilitation process not quite up to the mark as he got ruled out even after spending more than three months for his recovery? And is his unusual bowling action in some way a reason behind the recurrence of the stress fracture?

Sourav replied: “Fast bowling is not easy to do. And bowling action isn’t really a factor in the injury.”

Talking about Rishabh Pant, who’s hospitalised in Mumbai after a car accident on December 30, Sourav said being sidelined for a long duration shouldn’t affect the wicketkeeper-batter much as he has age on his side.

“He (Pant) will take time to recover. You cannot do anything in such cases.

“But he’s just 25. He has got a lot of time,” Sourav said.

Sourav, though, made it clear Pant wouldn’t be available for this year’s IPL.

In Pant’s absence, could the Delhi Capitals captaincy be handed over to senior opener David Warner? “Let’s see. I’ve been in touch with them (Capitals) since the auction itself. We’ll announce it in due course of time,” Sourav, set to be named the Capitals’ director of cricket, stated.

Asked about Virat Kohli’s 113 against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, Sourav was ecstatic: “He played brilliantly. Fantastic knock.”

The Cricket Association of Bengal, meanwhile, will pay tribute to Pele, who died on December 29, during the innings break of the second ODI on Thursday. A minute’s documentary, featuring glimpses of the Cosmos-Mohun Bagan game at the Eden in 1977, in which Pele had played, will be shown on the giant screen.