Jasprit Bumrah, India’s top paceman, is expected to miss the ICC T20 World Cup due to a back stress fracture, according to news agency, citing BCCI sources. This might be a major setback to India’s ambitions of doing well at the event in Australia. While the Board of Control for Cricket in India has yet to officially clarify the situation, Bumrah’s withdrawal from India’s series opener against South Africa in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday has not been encouraging.
Just minutes before the toss at Greenfield Stadium, the BCCI was notified of Bumrah’s ailment. “Jasprit Bumrah complained of back discomfort during India’s practise session on Tuesday. He was examined by the BCCI Medical Team. He was examined by the BCCI Medical Team. He will not play in the opening T20I, the BCCI tweeted.
The final two T20Is against Australia were played by Bumrah, who also missed the Asia Cup because of a back issue and was practising at the National Cricket Academy.
“Bumrah won’t participate in the World T20, that much is certain. He has a severe back problem. He may be out for six months due to a stress fracture, a top BCCI official informed the news agency on the condition of anonymity.
For the T20 World Cup, India has players like Mohammed Shami and Deepak Chahar on the standby list; one of them may now be called up to the starting lineup.
Chahar had a strong performance in the match against South Africa and may be chosen over Shami because of his greater batting abilities lower in the order.
Captain Rohit Sharma has acknowledged that India’s death bowling has been a problem. Due to his dismal performances, veteran paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been under criticism, and with Bumrah’s absence, the youthful Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel will be under pressure to perform.
Bumrah, who participated in the second and third Twenty20 matches against Australia, did not travel to Thiruvananthapuram with the squad for the first game of the series against South Africa.
The 28-year-old fast bowler, who is recuperating from knee surgery, is the second senior star player to be ruled out following Ravindra Jadeja.
The current state of the Indian squad is unsure, and Bumrah’s injury has only made matters worse for captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid.
“It will be devastating for India to lose Bumrah and Jadeja. We weren’t anticipating how things would turn out. For the Asia Cup, he received extra rest specifically to help him manage his workload. Now, it’s unclear if he was even healthy enough to participate in the Australia series “the senior official said.
Several veteran players have had enough rest, taking into account their effort.
What is more intriguing is that, excluding his IPL games for the Mumbai Indians, Bumrah has only participated in five Tests, five ODIs, and the same number of T20Is in 2022.
“Considering he was rested for the Asia Cup, the West Indies trip, as well as part of the bilateral cricket played in India, that’s not a lot of cricket. That much rest is a lot. He is currently at the NCA, and his rehabilitation will be difficult and protracted. Although the World T20 is significant, he is still young and India’s best bowler. With him, you can’t take a chance, the official stated.
Stress fractures in the back do not need surgery, but they do take a long time to heal.
When loading, Bumrah’s slinging motion puts a lot of strain on his back. Michael Holding, a former star of the West Indies fast bowling team, determined that Bumrah was prone to back ailments.
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