Will Bumrah play Asia Cup and World Cup?
Jasprit Bumrah has not played any competitive cricket since September 2022 due to injury. Bumrah is in line to play international cricket in India's tour of Ireland starting on 18 August 2023.
The importance of being Bumrah
Since Jasprit Bumrah’s ODI debut on 23rd January 2016, no bowler has taken more wickets in the death overs than him among all full members. Of his 121 wickets in 72 ODIs, 61 have come in the death overs. In death overs, he concedes 5.8 runs per over. 46% of his deliveries in death overs are dot balls. Since his debut, Bumrah is the second-highest wicket-taker (121 wickets) for India ranking after Kuldeep Yadav (141 Wickets in 84 ODIs). When Bumrah is part of the team, in the 72 ODIs, India have won 49 (68%). In powerplay, he concedes 4 runs per over - second best after Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s 3.8.
Bumrah has played a crucial part in India’s success in all formats. Bumrah has been out of action due to a prolonged injury since last year's Asia Cup. His absence was acutely felt in major tournaments he missed that included T20 World Cup, WTC Final. India desperately wants Bumrah to be fit and be in action for the upcoming Asia Cup and the following World Cup in October this year.
JASPRIT BUMRAH
ODI BOWLING STATS
| PHASE | INNINGS | WIKCETS | AVERAGE | ECONOMY | STRIKE RATE | DOT BALL % |
| Overall | 72 | 121 | 24.3 | 4.6 | 31.5 | 59.8 |
| Over 1t to 10 | 67 | 34 | 30.2 | 4.0 | 44.8 | 70.7 |
| Over 11t to 40 | 70 | 28 | 34.8 | 4.4 | 47.2 | 58.2 |
| Over 41t to 50 | 57 | 59 | 15.9 | 5.9 | 16.3 | 44.8 |
Leader of India’s pace attack for over three years, Jasprit Bumrah will be making his comeback to international cricket after a long sabbatical of almost eleven months. He returns to the Indian T20 side to face Ireland in an away series comprising of three matches. Bumrah has also been appointed as the captain of the team, the first time he will lead any T20 team in his career. He has lead team India in a Test against England in 2022 which was his only leadership experience across any format of the game.
Bumrah’s injury timeline
The last time Bumrah featured in any competitive game was against Australia in a couple of T20 internationals in September 2022 at home. After leading India in the Birmingham Test, he was part of the limited overs series against England picking his career-best ODI figures (6/19) on the tour. He was subsequently ruled out for the Asia Cup due to back spasms. He was rested for the two limited-overs series against West Indies and Zimbabwe before being ruled out.
Bumrah started his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and was deemed fit for the T20I series against Australia, South Africa and also the T20 World cup to be played down under. He bowled six overs across the two T20Is he featured in and conceded 73 runs in return for just one wicket.
The lower back issue rose again as Bumrah complained of back pain during a practice session before the first T20 against South Africa. He was sent back to the NCA and was subsequently removed from the squad for the bilateral series. A BCCI source even went ahead and claimed that Bumrah won’t feature in the T20 World cup as the injury is serious (stress fracture) and needs at least six months for the fast bowler to regain full fitness. Back in 2019, Bumrah suffered from a minor stress fracture and was out of action for three months.
BCCI however confirmed later Bumrah won’t be featuring in the T20 World Cup. He started his rehab in NCA and was deemed fit in December 2022 but the selectors decided not to rush him in the scheme of things and selected him for the series against Sri Lanka to be played in January 2023 after he performed well in match simulations at the NCA. Bumrah’s path for a Test comeback was also looking brighter with the Border Gavaskar Trophy to be followed.
The injury kept haunting Bumrah as he complained of stiffness in his glute with an increased workload. He was again withdrawn from the Indian team with the management hoping he might be back for the last leg of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The BCCI medical staff at the NCA thought otherwise and made a call that surgery was required to tackle the long-standing injury which meant Bumrah missed the IPL, the WTC final amongst other games for the Indian team.
Bumrah’s failed injury rehabilitation and subsequent surgery
After failing to make comebacks on multiple occasions in the previous year, Bumrah found himself in New Zealand for back surgery in March. The surgery and the time which is usually taken to make a rehabilitation and a comeback meant that he was ruled out of the Indian Premier League and the WTC final as well. The management got the lesson to not rush any fast bowler especially someone as important as Bumrah back in the mix after a serious injury.
A pain-free Bumrah returned to Bengaluru to commence his rehab at the NCA in mid-April and started bowling at full intensity in July displaying promising signs of finally making it to a playing XI. He however wasn’t included in the West Zone squads for either Duleep Trophy or Deodhar Trophy, the two curtain-raiser events in the ongoing domestic season. He featured in some warm-up games in Alur and is reported to bowl 10 overs picking one wicket in the match simulation.
On July 31st, the senior selection committee named a 15-member squad to tour Ireland for three T20Is naming Bumrah as the skipper. The squad also comprises of Ruturaj Gaikwad who was earlier appointed as the skipper for the upcoming National Games to be played in China but looks like the management has made it clear they want the fast bowler to feature in all three games and in a full capacity. Bumrah was also keen to take the leadership role again.
Will Bumrah play Asia Cup?
What does it hold for Bumrah and the Indian team in the future? Will Bumrah play in the Asia Cup? Is he fit enough to lead the Indian attack at the World Cup which will be played at home? How will his workload be managed?
The first step has been put forward by the BCCI. The aforementioned domestic tournaments; Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy; are long format tourneys (First-Class and List A respectively). Featuring in those games would have provided a good match practice against one of the best talents in the country but looking at the workload management, it was a good call to not let him play such high-pressure games with an expectation of bowling more than 10 overs in a day as he faced the back issue due to the excess workload.
After playing three T20Is over the course of 5 days, where Bumrah might bowl a maximum of 12 overs, India will play their next fixture in an ODI against Pakistan in the Asia Cup. There is a gap of 10 days between the two matches. The three games will provide the management with a better idea of how to manage the senior pro’s workload going ahead. If picked for the multi-nation tournament, he might be rested in the group stage for the match against Nepal.
The cramped international calendar right before the World Cup has made the situation more interesting. If team India makes it to the Asia Cup final, there will be a seven-day window between their next series at home as Australia play three ODIs.
There are a couple of World Cup warm-up games scheduled within a couple of days as the bilateral series ends, then comes the big examination for team India, its management and the pacer’s workload as the World Cup begins with India playing their first game against Australia on October 8th.
All eyes will be on Jasprit Bumrah yet again. How he responds mentally, how his body responds in Ireland playing and leading in those 3 T20Is after multiple attempts of making a comeback since missing out on any cricket since September 2022. Bumrah will be itching for some action and to send the stumps for a cartwheel once more, team India will be blessed if he finds some form and rhythm and his body responds positively for him to be considered for the World Cup.
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Dillip has over two decades of experience in creating sports content. As the Sports Editor of SportsBoom, Dillip brings in a wealth of experience and expertise to the role. Dillip has worked with leading sports broadcasters and sports web content portals in Asia. He is an adept storyteller and has a special liking for data stories. He has a keen interest in data analysis and uncovering insights from large datasets. He loves to tell the story with rich and compelling data visualisation.