In arguably the most awaited cricket news of the year, Jasprit Bumrah is in his final stages of recovery and could be back playing for the national team very soon, the BCCI announced on Friday. Reports of the India pacer's recovery had been doing the rounds since the last month, most of which looked optimistic – Bumrah himself has been dropping subtle hints of his comeback with positive captions on Twitter. In fact, just last week, a video of Bumrah bowling full tilt at the NCA emerged, sending goosebumps among all Indian fans, but suspense still lingered over his participation in the Asia Cup next month, and the all-important World Cup beginning October. Well, the wait is finally over with BCCI dropping a super-thrilling official update surrounding Bumrah's recovery.
"The two fast bowlers [Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna] are in the final stages of their rehab and are bowling with full intensity in the nets. The duo will now play some practice games, which the NCA will organise. The BCCI Medical Team is pleased with their progress and will make a final decision after assessing them following the practice games," said a BCCI release.
Like Bumrah, Prasidh too has been sidelined with a lumbar stress fracture. Having last played for India back in August of 2023 against Zimbabwe, Prasidh was ruled out of the IPL 2023 after which he underwent surgery and like his India senior, has since been sweating it out at the NCA. As for Bumrah, the NCA is careful about his workload and does not want to rush him straight back to competitive cricket. Hence, the idea of practice matches has been proposed.
KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer on the mend too
There was good news for KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer as well. Out with a hamstring and a back injury respectively, Rahul and Iyer have been huge absentees for India, but they too are back on the mend, with both making significant progress. Iyer has been out of action before the start of the Sri Lanka ODIs in February, while Rahul pulled up his hammy while fielding during the Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL game. Having said that, with both batters undergoing some warm-up drills, things look bright and promising.
{{/usCountry}}There was good news for KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer as well. Out with a hamstring and a back injury respectively, Rahul and Iyer have been huge absentees for India, but they too are back on the mend, with both making significant progress. Iyer has been out of action before the start of the Sri Lanka ODIs in February, while Rahul pulled up his hammy while fielding during the Lucknow Super Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL game. Having said that, with both batters undergoing some warm-up drills, things look bright and promising.
{{/usCountry}}"They [KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer] have resumed batting in the nets and are currently undergoing strength and fitness drills. The BCCI Medical Team is satisfied with their progress and will increase their intensity in terms of both skills and strength and conditioning in the coming days," the release further added.
Pant resumes batting and keeping
Rishabh Pant, the third star batter missing from the Indian team, is taking giants strides towards his return. The India wicketkeeper batter, who was involved in an unfortunate car accident on December 30 last year, was expected to be gone for more than a year at least, but given his speedy recovery, strength training and going by his workout videos on social media, Pant could be back a lot sooner than initially expected. The same Pant, who until a few months ago, could not walk without crutches, has begun batting and keeping in the nets.
"Pant has made significant progress in his rehabilitation and has commenced batting as well as keeping in the nets. He is currently following a fitness programme designed for him which includes strength, flexibility and running."