Team India captain Rohit Sharma is hoping pace bowler and Mumbai Indians teammate Jasprit Bumrah will return next month to lead the attack in the final two Tests of the upcoming four-match series against world No. 1 Australia. The 29-year-old Burmah, who has not played international cricket since last September due to a back injury, is not part of the Indian squad for the first two Tests but recently returned to bowl at the National Cricket Academy nets, which raised hopes of a comeback in the near future.
“I’m not so sure about Bumrah, I hope he plays the next (last) two tests (against Australia), we don’t want to take any chances with him as back injuries are always critical. A lot of cricket will come back after that,’ Rohit said against New Zealand on Tuesday after the third ODI.
“We are in constant contact with physios and doctors in NCA. The medical team will give him as much time as he wants,” he added.
Jasprit Bumrah has started bowling in nets again.
He bowls into the nets against Venkatesh Iyer.#JaspritBumrah #BorderGavaskarTrophy pic.twitter.com/HG7o68Uqyu— Vineet Sharma (@vineetsharma94) January 21, 2023
The India captain spoke at the post-match press conference after leading India to a 3-0 ODI run while visiting New Zealand at Indore. Bumrah suffered a stress fracture in the lower back following the England tour and missed the Asian Cup last year.
He was expected to make his comeback with the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, but after being included in the squad, the pacer was ruled out. The test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which is also part of the 2022-23 World Test Championship (WTC), will begin in Nagpur on February 9.
The last two Tests will be held in the first two weeks of March. To boost the team’s chances at the T20 World Cup last October-November, Bumrah was rushed to the T20 side during a home game against Australia where he again collapsed and was ruled out indefinitely.
(with PTI inputs)