ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Massive blow for India, Jasprit Bumrah ruled out with back stress fracture

Team India's pace speargun Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia on Thursday with a stress fracture. It has dramatically affected the team's chances of success in next month's global event. A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official has informed PTI that Bumrah's stress fracture could rule him out of action for months. It is understood that either Deepak Chahar or Mohammed Shami could replace Bumrah as a pacer in the principal squad. Both were named reserve players for the tremendous global Twenty20 competition by the BCCI.

"Bumrah is not going to play the World T20 for sure. He has a serious back condition. It's a stress fracture, and he could be out for six months," a senior BCCI quoted PTI on obscurity conditions. Bumrah, who played a couple of T20Is against Australia, refrained from travelling with the side to Thiruvananthapuram for the T20I series opener against South Africa on Wednesday.

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Bumrah is the second senior star player to be ruled out for the Indian side after all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who is recovering from knee surgery. The Indian side looks unsettled, and Bumrah's injury has only compounded the sufferings for skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid. "Losing Bumrah and Jadeja will be huge for India. We didn't expect that things would pan out as they have. He was rested for the Asia Cup precisely to manage his workload management. Now it remains a question if he was even fit enough to play the Australia series," the senior official added.

Many senior players had been given sufficient rest, minding their workload. What is more gripping is that Bumrah has played only five Tests, five One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and T20Is each this year, besides the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches for record five-time former champion Mumbai Indians (MI).

"That's not a lot of cricket, considering that he was rested for the Asia Cup, the West Indies tour, and some of the bilateral cricket played in India. That's a lot of rest. Currently, he is at the NCA [National Cricket Academy], and the rehab will be long and arduous. World T20 is important, but he is still young and India's biggest bowling asset. You can't take a risk with him," the official said.

Back stress fractures usually do not require surgery. However, they do take quite some time to heal. Bumrah, who has a slinging action, adds to the pressure on his back during loading. Former Windies fast bowling legend Michael Holding had assessed that Bumrah had always been a back injuries candidate.

(With inputs from PTI)