Indian star bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been out of cricketing action since September 2022 and was also ruled out of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup due to a back injury.
Aakash Chopra Warns Bumrah
In August 2022, Bumrah was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his back and was ruled out of India’s Asia Cup campaign later that month.
Former India batter Aakash Chopra stated that Mumbai Indians should let go of Bumrah for a few matches if the BCCI demands it as the pacer needs to be fully fit for the big international events later this year.
“You’re an Indian player first and then you play for your franchise. So, if Bumrah feels any discomfort, the BCCI will step in and tell the franchise that we are not going to release him. The world won’t end if he doesn’t play seven games with Jofra Archer,” Chopra told a sports website.
However, in September, Bumrah was declared fit and was picked in India’s T20 World Cup squad. The same squad also featured in India’s build-up to the tournament with home games against Australia and South Africa.
Bumrah featured in two of the three T20s against Australia but was pulled out on the eve of the South Africa series, India’s last before the World Cup after he complained of back pain
Bumrah’s last appearance for India was against Australia in the T20I series at home before getting sidelined with a stress reaction in his back.
“At the same time, when you’re fit, you want to keep on playing as that only makes you better. So I definitely feel MI will pay heed to it if BCCI steps in because he is a national treasure and things aren’t as difficult to manage as they seem to be at the moment,” he added.
While Bumrah was expected to play in the Australia test series, BCCI decides not to rush him as the ongoing year was packed with ICC events. Bumrah will be needed for the potential World Test Championship final at the Oval in London from June 7-11 and also for the big ODI World Cup in India at the end of the year.
