India’s premier pacer, Jasprit Bumrah is set to miss the upcoming World Test Championship final as well as the upcoming World Cup.
According to reports, Bumrah’s back injury has taken a turn for the worse and now requires surgery.
The 29-year-old has been out of action since September last year and hasn’t played any cricket since then.
However, chances are slim of Bumrah returning to competitive cricket anytime soon and fans are disappointed with this news.
On the other hand, former India allrounder, Madan Lal has asked fans to keep their expectations at a minimum for Bumrah.
He feels that the pacer will take really long to arrive in Indian colors. Instead, he wants the team management to look for other options for the WTC.
Additionally, Lal has suggested the name of Umesh Yadav who could be equally effective for English conditions.
For India to enter the WTC final, they will have to win the final Test against Australia starting 9th March.
Says Lal,
They will take Umesh [to WTC final]. There you need at least 3 pacers to only one spinner might play and the rest will be fast bowlers. 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 1 to 1.5 years. He has not played in so long. It means his injury is very serious.
Madan Lal wants India to use available resources at the moment
Bumrah first suffered his back injury on India’s tour of England last year in July.
After his successful rehab, he was drafted into the squad for the home series against Australia where he aggravated the injury a lot more.
Moreover, after the tour of England, Bumrah did not participate in the Asia Cup.
On the other hand, after the home series against Australia, Bumrah was ruled out of the T20 World Cup.
This year, after being out for a month, Bumrah was brought into the squad for the limited-overs home series against Sri Lanka.
However, in a massive U-turn, the BCCI pulled him out before the opening game.
As per previous plans, Bumrah was scheduled to play in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after missing the first two Tests. But, that didn’t happen.
Afterward, he was expected to be fit for this year’s IPL but that plan has also been tossed out of the window.
Therefore, Lal says that there is a very slim chance of Bumrah making a comeback to the Indian team and has also said that he would not be as effective after the surgery as he was before.
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.
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