Fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been out of the cricketing action ever since India’s tour of West Indies in August. And now according to reports, he is currently going through strength and conditioning programmes at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
Although the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to give an update on Bhuvneshwar’s injury, according to TOI, the 29-year-old India pacer is currently recovering from a hamstring and side strain.
The BCCI chief selector MSK Prasad also did not mention anything about Bhuvi’s absence from the national squad for the home series against South Africa and Bangladesh.
“It’s becoming a trend now at the NCA. As it is, the institution is fighting a label of just being a rehab centre and these cases keep coming up. Saha lost a good year and half of his career,” a BCCI official told TOI.
“If Bhuvneshwar’s injury is not as serious, they must come up with a clear explanation of why it is taking him so long to get back on the field. The board announced that Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya needed to travel to England. Bumrah didn’t even need surgery,” the official added.
Bhuvneshwar has been carrying the strain since July 2018 after he came back from the England tour. As per the report, a source close to the development said, the Indian seamer was not treated properly and the injury got aggravated as the team management wanted to take him to the 2019 World Cup while adding that Bhuvneshwar is still one of the first choices for limited-overs series but needs to get back to the field before gearing for the T20 World Cup in Australia next year.
“He was not treated properly. His injury was allowed to aggravate because the team wanted to take him to the World Cup. He is still one of the first choices for white-ball cricket but he needs to get back on to the field before building up for next year’s T20 World Cup,” a source was quoted as saying in the report.
Previously, NCA was also criticized for handling the Prithvi Shaw case very poorly after the right-handed opener failed to pass the dope tested.
