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Cricket Players'I'm very sceptical of Jasprit Bumrah's comeback': India's World Cup winner after star pacer ruled out of Sri Lanka ODIs
Jasprit Bumrah was set to make his comeback in international cricket starting India's ODI series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, but it seems as if the star pacer will have to wait just a tad longer for his much-awaited return. The BCCI on Monday in a last-minute move pulled Bumrah out of the squad.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah was set to make his comeback in international cricket starting India's ODI series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, but it seems as if the star pacer will have to wait just a tad longer for his much-awaited return. The BCCI on Monday in a last-minute move pulled Bumrah out of India's squad, suggesting that he may still not be a 100 percent. Bumrah, who has been out since September last year due to a back injury, 'will need some more time to build bowling resistance', as stated by the BCCI. The board refrained from commenting any further on Bumrah's injury, which makes the India pacer's return more interesting. When will he return? The New Zealand series… or the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting next month? Only time will tell.
Having said that, Bumrah's back-and-forth treatment by the BCCI makes one thing clear – that he is not yet fully fit. And perhaps that is why former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan is a bit apprehensive about what the future holds for Bumrah. Pathan, member of India's 2007 T20 World Cup winning team, couldn't help but stress on Bumrah's importance and the value he holds in the current Indian team. But at the same time, Pathan does not want the star pacer to rush back if it runs the risk of putting him back on the shelf.
"Look I'm very sceptical about Jasprit Bumrah's comeback, I'm hoping that he will not have an injury effect on his bowling. But I really hope that he is fully fit, more than 100 percent fit, which is what I want to look at because a player like Bumrah, is very important to the Indian team," he said on the 'Follow the Blues' show on Star Sports.
Pathan, who along with Bumrah is one of India's only three hat-trick takers in Tests, feels Bumrah remaining injury-free is highly crucial for India, simply given the fact what he brings to the table. With 2023 promising to be another extremely vital year for India, with the World Cup, Asia Cup and quite possibly the World Test Championship final awaiting, Pathan wants the management to handle Bumrah, arguably India's best all-formats bowler, with care.
"For him to play consistently and remain fit is of utmost importance because to find a player of his quality is very rare, so to manage him and for him to manage his body and to keep his fitness levels on top as well as to keep his mind on recovering from his stress injury and go under rehabilitation, and to continue to grow and move forward as a cricketer is of vital importance not only to Bumrah but for the team management as well," added India's second hat-trick taker in Tests.
