Star India pacer Jasprit Bumrah is set to remain out of action for an extended period because of his recurring back injury.
Bumrah will miss the 2023 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) and might not feature in the World Test Championship final (if India qualify).
Meanwhile, former cricketer Madan Lal has said India should forget about Bumrah for now and take Umesh Yadav to the WTC final, scheduled to be held at The Oval from June 7-11.
Umesh impressed one and all with his performance in the just-concluded Indore Test against Australia. The right-arm pacer, who made a return to the Indian XI replacing Mohammad Shami, bowled a fiery spell in Australia’s first innings to return with three wickets.
“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.
Jasprit Bumrah picked up a stress fracture on his lower back prior to the Asia Cup last year. On his return in the home T20Is against Australia in September 2022, the Indian pace spearhead went down again with the same injury, which ruled him out of the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Bumrah was supposed to make his comeback to the India team after a lengthy injury lay-off during the ODI series against Sri Lanka in January but he got ruled out once again.
On the eve of the opening ODI, BCCI issued a statement, citing that Bumrah won’t take part in the 50-over series as he needs some more time to build bowling resilience. Subsequently, he checked into the NCA and started rehabbing again.
Madan Lal feels Bumrah should be given time to recover if the Indian team wants to see him at his best.
“At max, an injury takes 3 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,” he stated.
