Jasprit Bumrah, the star Indian fast bowler, is expected to remain sidelined for an extended period due to his recurring back injury. As a result, he will not be participating in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) and may also miss the World Test Championship final, assuming India qualifies.
Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Madan Lal has suggested that India should focus on other options and consider taking Umesh Yadav instead of Bumrah to the WTC final, which is scheduled to be held at The Oval from June 7-11.
Umesh recently demonstrated his impressive form in the Indore Test against Australia. He replaced Mohammad Shami in India’s playing XI and delivered a remarkable performance, claiming three wickets in Australia’s first innings with his fiery spell of fast bowling.
“They will take Umesh [to WTC final]. There you need at least 3 pacers so, only one spinner might play and the rest will be fast bowlers. Bumrah ko ab bhool jao. Usko chhor dijiye aap (Forget Bumrah. Leave him out of the equation). When Bumrah returns, we will see then. Use whatever you have. What is the guarantee? No wonder when he will return – maybe in 1 to 1.5 years. He has not played in so long. It means his injury is very serious,” said Lal while speaking to Sports Tak.
Before the Asia Cup last year, Bumrah suffered a stress fracture on his lower back. Despite his return to the Indian team for the home T20Is against Australia in September 2022, the fast bowler was forced to withdraw from the T20 World Cup in Australia due to the recurrence of the same injury.
Although Bumrah was scheduled to return to the India team during the ODI series against Sri Lanka in January, he was again ruled out due to the injury. On the eve of the opening ODI, the BCCI announced that Bumrah would not participate in the 50-over series as he needed additional time to regain his bowling resilience. Consequently, he went to the NCA for rehabilitation.
Lal believes that if the Indian team wants to see Bumrah at his best, the speedster should be given adequate time to recover.
“At max, an injury takes three months to heal, and he hasn’t played since September – even Hardik Pandya was able to return in 4 months post his back surgery – and Bumrah hasn’t played since 6 months. So, how can you expect that this will be the same Bumrah that we have seen so far? It will take him time. If you want to see the same Bumrah, you will have to give him time,” added Lal.
