India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar will remain out of action till IPL 2021 likely to begin in the first week of April, having suffered an injury in his thigh muscle during this year’s edition of the T20 extravaganza.
Bhuvi, who is being looked at by the medical staff at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore, will complete his rehabilitation in January 2021.
“He (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) will be able to play only during the IPL as he is out of competitive cricket for six months,” reported IANS.
Meanwhile, sports physiotherapist Heath Matthews, who is a part of Mumbai Indians (MI) camp, stated that Bhuvneshwar seemed to be suffering from ‘classic injuries’.
“The problem with fast bowling is that it puts a huge toll on the body. He seems to be unlucky in the last couple of years and seems to be getting a lot of classic injuries – back strain, side strain, hamstring strain – that all focus in and around the lower back area, which is very often the problem area for bowlers,” Matthews told IANS.
When asked if a change in the bowling action would help Bhuvi, Matthews said: “Sometimes a bowler who is trying to get extra pace and extra swing, it takes a couple of seasons to get that right. At times, the body also takes time to adjust to take the new stress, trying to do new things. Unfortunately, it can be overloaded in certain areas. At the elite level you are so close to the maximum that to make changes becomes very difficult for your body and takes a long time to adjust.”
Bhuvneshwar has so far played 21 Tests, 114 ODIs and 43 T20Is for India, picking up 63, 132 and 41 wickets respectively.
