India are set to suffer a huge blow in the form of Jasprit Bumrah, who according to reports is unlikely to take part in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2022 starting on October 16 in Australia. The ace India fast bowler has suffered a back stress fracture which has reportedly ruled him out of the mega tournament Down Under.
The right-arm fast bowler had recently made a comeback to the Indian side after suffering another back injury setback and had only just begun building his workload and fitness to reach top performance.
But arguably India’s best fast bowler across formats Jasprit Bumrah, who was expected to play a vital role for India in the bowling department given that the other senior bowlers such as Bhuvneshwar Kumar have recently struggled, sat out of the opening T20I against South Africa played at Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday night.
As of now, there is no official declaration by the Indian cricket board that Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup.
But once confirmed, Jasprit Bumrah will be the second high-profile player after Ravindra Jadeja to miss the mega tournament in which the team is expected to go all the way after an intense build up period in which India have played 22 T20 internationals this year.
It must be remembered that star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja had suffered a knee injury during the team’s disappointing campaign in the Asia Cup 2022 in the United Arab Emirates. Ravindra Jadeja had reportedly suffered a knee injury during a water sports activity during a team outing day, which angered some of the officials in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Ravindra Jadeja has already undergone a surgery on his knee and is currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, recovering and recuperating after the medical procedure.
Jasprit Bumrah hard on Wednesday travelled to Bangalore to undergo fresh scans on his back at the NCA and results are awaited which will tell if the fast bowler is ruled out of the T20 World Cup tournament, or even suggest how much time he will spend away from action, with the off-field development being followed by the Indian cricket fraternity with bated breath.
According to ESPNcricinfo, a final decision on the availability of Jasprit Bumrah will be taken in the next few days as the BCCI’s medical team have decided to wait and monitor the first bowler to determine if he can work his way back to peak fitness and be available for selection at some point in the T20 World Cup 2022, if not from the start.
It implies that Jasprit Bumrah will certainly miss the blockbuster opening match against arch-rivals Pakistan, which the two teams will play on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Jasprit Bumrah had spent time off in August and September due to a back injury and subsequently missed the Asia Cup 2022 tournament.
He had made a comeback in the T20I series against Australia and South Africa, playing two matches against Australia on September 23 and 25 but had missed the opening game against South Africa in Thiruvananthapuram.
The BCCI informed in a tweet on Thursday,
“Jasprit Bumrah complained of back pain during India’s practice session on Tuesday. The BCCI medical team assessed him. He is ruled out of the first #INDvSA T20I.”
In the meantime, news agency PTI reported that Jasprit Bumrah will miss the T20 World Cup quoting a BCCI official who said that Bumrah could be out of action for several months. PTI quoted the BCCI official as saying,
“Bumrah is not going to play the World T20 for sure. He has a serious back condition. It’s a stress fracture and he could be out for a period of six months.”