Ace India pacer Jasprit Bumrah will reportedly not play in the upcoming white-ball series against New Zealand and is also in doubt about playing in the first Test of the four-match series against Australia in February in Nagpur, after he was pulled out of the Sri Lanka ODIs by BCCI on January 9, 2023.
Bumrah has been out of action since September last year because of a stress reaction in his back and has been rehabilitating at the BCCI's National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. He was not part of India's original ODI squad against Sri Lanka announced on December 27 but was included in the three-match series on January 3.
However, on January 9, BCCI revealed that the fast bowler has been pulled out of the squad and will need some more time to build bowling resilience. This decision was taken as a precautionary measure.
Now ESPNCricinfo has reported that Bumrah might need another month to build up to match fitness after suffering another setback, casting doubts over his participation in the first Test against Australia in Nagpur from February 9.
The plan was for Bumrah to undergo match-simulation workloads at the NCA before making his international comeback, and it is understood that he passed that test in Bengaluru. But when he took on the same workload two days in a row in Mumbai, he felt stiffness in his side.
Now the pacer will rest and rehab with the aim of being ready to join India's preparatory camp, which is set to begin on February 1, for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
This also means he will miss the upcoming three T20Is and three ODIs against New Zealand.
But the Indian team management is more concerned about Bumrah’s fitness and readiness for Tests against Australia, a series which will decide whether India plays in the final of the ICC World Test Championship 2023 or not.
Several key players, including captain Rohit Sharma, allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, and Bumrah have not played Test cricket since the one-off Test against England in Birmingham last July.
(ESPNCricinfo report)
