India’s star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will fly to New Zealand to undergo back surgery and is going to be away from the field at least till September 2023. Notably, it was due to the same back injury that the ace India pacer got ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
As per the latest reports, Bumrah in New Zealand will be treated by renowned Kiwi surgeon Rowan Schouten who has a history of helping out numerous high-profile athletes. Since it will take five to six months for him to recover fully after the operation, therefore the chances of the 29-year-old Gujarat cricketer appearing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and India’s possible World Test Championship Final are almost over.
While the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) expected Bumrah to return to action in the third Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2023, the right-arm pacer did not get clearance from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to return to the field. Taking cognizance of the matter, BCCI left out Bumrah from the ODI series against Australia as well in order to manage his workload and not stress him ahead of the ODI World Cup later this year.
The BCCI officials are hopeful that Bumrah will be available for the ODI World Cup in India following the surgery, and for the same reason, they decided to get his surgery done by Schouten- who had worked on England pacer Jofra Archer and operated upon the likes of Shane Bond. It is believed that it was Bond only who suggested the Indian board about Schouten.
Bumrah last played for India in a T20I against Australia on September 25 2022, and later went on to miss the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup due to an injury. However, the current focus of the BCCI remains on getting Bumrah fit prior to the 50-over world cup event at home.
