India’s star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah recently underwent back surgery in New Zealand and was likely expected to make a comeback in India’s limited over set-up, considering the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023. However, the right-arm pacer was not picked in the Indian squad for the multi-format West Indies tour, which has raised many questions regarding his availability for the marquee International Cricket Council (ICC) event.
It is noteworthy that Bumrah has been out of action from cricket since September 2022 and ended up missing T20 World Cup held the same year. He also couldn’t participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and the summit clash of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 due to recurring fitness issues.
India’s former head coach Ravi Shastri has now come forward and shared his view regarding the return of Bumrah and issued a stern warning to the 29-year-old pacer and the Indian management.
Speaking to The Week in an interview, Shastri said that rushing the comeback of Bumrah can prove to be a fatal move, and it might affect him for the next few months. He even cited the example of Pakistan‘s premier pacer Shaheen Afridi to support his point.
“He (Bumrah) is a very important cricketer. But if you rush him for the World Cup then you might lose him for four months later on, much like Shaheen Afridi. So there’s a thin line and it needs to be thought about,” said Shastri.
In the later part of the interaction, Shastri also talked about India’s new T20I skipper Hardik Pandya‘s inclusion in the Test team and reckoned that the all-rounder’s body would find it difficult to adjust in the longest format. Nevertheless, he backed Hardik for the ODI captaincy after the 2023 World Cup.
“Let’s be clear. His body (Hardik) cannot cope with Test cricket. After the World Cup, I feel he should take over captaincy in white-ball cricket. Rohit should lead India in the World Cup, no question there,” Shastri shared his views.
