“Forget Jasprit Bumrah…”: India Star’s Blunt Comment On Star Pacer’s Prolonged Absence

The absence of star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has disappointed Team India and their fans. The 29-year-old fast bowler is out of action since September 2022 due to a back injury. According to sources, Bumrah may be ruled out of IPL 2023 as he may undergo back surgery to fully recover from this problem. This has raised concerns over his availability if India have to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June. As the Rohit Sharma-led team is on the verge of qualifying for the marquee event, former India all-rounder Madan Lal said the team management should forget about Bumrah and go with Umesh Yadav.

“They will take Umesh [to WTC final], There you need at least 3 fast bowlers so only one spinner can play and rest will be fast bowlers. Forget Bumrah now. Ukh chhod do aap (Forget Bumrah. Take him out of the equation). Will see when Bumrah returns. Use whatever you have on hand. What is the guarantee? No wonder when he will return – probably 1 to 1.5 years. He hasn’t played for so long. It means his injury is very serious,” Madan Lal said on Sports Tak.

“At most, an injury takes 3 months to heal and he hasn’t played since September – even Hardik Pandya was able to make a comeback in 4 months after his back surgery – and Bumrah hasn’t played for 6 months. So how can you expect it to be the same Bumrah we have seen so far. It will take time. If you want to see the same Bumrah, you have to give it time,” said Madan Lal.

It has been a frustrating wait for Bumrah, who has attempted a comeback more than once since suffering a back injury in August that ruled him out of the Asia Cup. Initially, the injury did not seem serious as he was included in India’s T20 World Cup squad in September and even played in the last two T20 matches against Australia on 23 and 25 September.

Three days later, Bumrah did not play in the first T20I against South Africa and it was revealed that he had been taken for scans, which revealed a stress-related injury to his back. He was taken to the NCA and scans confirmed that the injury was serious. This ruled him out of the T20 World Cup, in which India made it to the semi-finals.

Bumrah resumed his rehab in November and started bowling in mid-December. His progress seemed positive as he was added to the white-ball series played in January, more than a week after the original team was selected.

Bumrah did match simulation exercises at the NCA but the discomfort resurfaced when he took on a higher workload during fitness drills in January. Scans revealed the development of a fresh niggle, ruling him out of the Sri Lanka series against Australia and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Coming to the WTC, Australia have sealed their place in the finals of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy by defeating India in the third Test. Team India now needs to win the fourth Test to reach the final of the WTC.

(With PTI inputs)

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