Returning pace ace Jasprit Bumrah could prove to be the key man when India take on Sri Lanka for their upcoming T20I series.
The countries meet for the three-game contest as they continue preparations towards the T20 World Cup later this year.
Bumrah finally returns to the fold following a four-month layoff with a back injury.
He is priced at 3.00 (2/1) with Bet365 to be India’s top wicket-taker across the three fixtures. He shares the top of the market with Yuzvendra Chahal.
Betting sites predict more dominance from India for Sri Lanka visit
India, meanwhile, are odds-on favourites to land an overall series victory. They are priced at 1.05 (1/20) with Bet 365 to come out on top after three matches. Sri Lanka are available at 9.00 (8/1) to take the series win.
The first match takes place in Guwahati this Sunday and India are 1.20 (1/5) to make it a winning start. Sri Lanka are priced up at 4.50 (7/2) to cause on upset and take an early 1-0 series lead.
Bumrah believes his bowling variations can again help India in the shorter format.
“I always like to have new things up my sleeve,” said the Mumbai Indians man during an exclusive interview with the Hindustan Times.
“If you’ve got only two or three tricks, then you’re stuck. Some days you go in with a fixed agenda; you think, at the end, I’m just going to bowl yorkers and slower balls.
“But on that day, if your yorkers are out of place—and your opponents know you will bowl slower balls and are waiting for it—then you need a good bouncer, right? If you’ve got a very good length ball. Or a wide yorker, a wide slower ball. I’ve got so many options.”
India vs Sri Lanka T20 Squads
| India | Sri Lanka |
| Virat Kohli (captain) | Lasith Malinga (captain) |
| Shikhar Dhawan | Danushka Gunathilaka |
| Rishabh Pant | Avishka Fernando |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | Angelo Mathews |
| KL Rahul | Dasun Shanaka |
| Sanju Samson | Kusal Perera |
| Shivam Dube | Niroshan Dickwella |
| Shreyas Iyer | Dhananjaya de Silva |
| Ravindra Jadeja | Isuru Udana |
| Jasprit Bumrah | Bhanuka Rajapaksa |
| Navdeep Saini | Oshada Fernando |
| Manish Pandey | Wanindu Hasaranga |
| Washington Sundar | Lahiru Kumara |
| Shardul Thakur | Kusal Mendis |
| Kuldeep Yadav | Lakshan Sandakan |
| Kasun Rajitha |
Malinga and Bumrah to join forces again for IPL 2020 favourites Mumbai Indians
The T20I series will see Bumrah go head-to-head with mentor and Mumbai Indians team-mate Lasith Malinga.
Sri Lankan skipper Malinga is also the favourite to be his team’s overall series top wicket-taker and is priced at 2.75 (7/4) with Bet365.
Both men will hope a positive start to the new year will also fire them into form for the upcoming IPL 2020 season, where they could be bowling in tandem for MI once again.
Defending champions Mumbai are the current joint-favourites to secure another IPL title win.
They are available at 5.00 (4/1) with Bet365 to land a fifth tournament victory.
Latest IPL 2020 Odds
| IPL Team | Winner Odds |
| Mumbai Indians | 5.0 |
| Hyderabad Sunrisers | 5.0 |
| Chennai Super Kings | 6.0 |
| Delhi Captials | 8.0 |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 8.0 |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | 8.0 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 10.0 |
| Kings XI Punjab | 10.0 |
Bumrah says he has learned a lot from fellow yorker specialist Malinga about mental strength and preparations off the field.
He added: ““He did not teach me anything on the field. The things I learnt from him are about the mind.
“How to handle different situations. How to not get angry. How to make a plan for a batsman.”
Mumbai Indians 2020 Squad
| Rohit Sharma (c) | Hardik Pandya |
| Kieron Pollard | Jasprit Bumrah |
| Dhawal Kulkarni | Krunal Pandya |
| Ishan Kishan | Anmolpreet Singh |
| Quinton de Kock | Jayant Yadav |
| Suryakumar Yadav | Aditya Tare |
| Rahul Chahar | Anukul Roy |
| Mitchell McClenaghan | Lasith Malinga |
| Sherfane Rutherford | Trent Boult |
| Chris Lynn | Nathan Coulter-Nile |
| Sourabh Tiwary | Prince Balwant Rai Singh |
| Digvijay Deshmukh | Mohsin Khan |
Mumbai Indians are expected to build on a successful 2019 season that saw them lift the IPL title for the fourth time in the last seven years.
They secured victory in the 2019 final by just one run against rivals Chennai Super Kings and are again fancied to back that up in IPL 2020.
Bumrah was again at the heart of his side's bowling attack last season and finished as MI top wicket-taker with 19 in 16 matches.
He was just ahead of Malinga who bagged 16 wickets in just 12 matches for MI.
