Jasprit Bumrah’s absence from the Indian TEAMS is worrying

India would love to have him fit for the World Cup. The big question is, when will the pacer fire on all cylinders. He is vital to India's plans.

Jasprit Bumrah’s absence from the Indian TEAMS is worrying

Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah‘s continued absence from the Indian team has cricket fans worried. When the team for the last two Tests in the Border Gavaskar Trophy Series and the ODIs were announced on Sunday, Bumrah’s absence once again caught the eye.

His long break is definitely a worry. It is well known after sustaining a stress fracture in his back during the one-off Test against England last July in Birmingham, Bumrah was out of action. On his return, he underwent rehab at the NCA in Bangalore and played a few matches. But then, his back was again sore. At a time when there is a lot of talk on injuries, rehab, fitness, and how the outgoing chairman of the BCCI selection committee, Chetan Sharma blurted a lot of things, the fast bowler’s absence is a matter of intrigue.

At one point of time, Bumrah was needed in all formats of cricket by Team India. Reasons for his injury have been speculative and the BCCI does not give any official explanation. He is supposed to be very important for India vis a vis the ICC World Cup (ODI format) to be held in India later this year.

However, with no news on his return, guessing games have begun. The joke is, if he will come straight into the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting in the end of March for Mumbai Indians. If that happens, the club over country debate can begin again. Right now, the silence from the team management, captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid is not great news.

Related: “It will cost WTC for India”- Unhappy Twitteratis slam Rahul Dravid as he backs KL Rahul despite consistent failures

The big question is, when will Jasprit Bumrah fire on all cylinders

Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah

For long, players not wanting to miss the IPL and then opting for breaks from Team India duty has come in for copious criticism. That is justified, since playing for India is important. Bumrah’s back injury, by nature, demands rest and rehab and strength training. Someone like T20 captain Hardik Pandya had a back issue, did intense rehab and then sat out for a long time.

When he came back, at first, he only batted. Once he slipped into bowling mode, he felt comfortable with four overs in T20 internationals. He then went on to lead Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in 2022. From there, his rise and return has been phenomenal. Pandya is now ready for ODIs as well.

India won the first two Tests in the BGT Series where the spinners held sway — Ravindra Jadeja and R.Ashwin. It may have been a good idea to bring back Bumrah. But then, not being part of the Test and ODI teams forces one to believe there is more to it than meets the eye over his full recovery.

His jerky action has been described as a possible cause for his back stress fracture/injury. When he bowled for India in all formats, he was fast, fierce and destructive. India would love to have him fit for the World Cup. The big question is, when will the pacer fire on all cylinders. He is vital to India’s plans.

In case you missed:

WATCH: Ravichandran Ashwin tries Mankading Steve Smith; Virat Kohli’s reaction is gold

“King for a reason!”- Virat Kohli hailed on social media for breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record