The worst nightmare for the Mumbai Indians fans is about to come true as star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is all but official to be ruled out from the upcoming IPL 2023 season, which will start a month later, from March 31.
Jasprit Bumrah’s return to the game has been a highly anticipated one; he was expected to make his comeback in the IPL 2023 after being out of action for 5 months due to back injury followed by a glute injury.
It was also a dream for the Mumbai Indians fans to see Bumrah team up and bowl in tandem with England’s pace sensation Jofra Archer, who MI had bought for INR 8 crore in the IPL 2022 auction but Archer missed the tournament last year due to his elbow injury.
Now, while Archer has become fit and available and he recently played in the SA20 and in the ODIs against South Africa, Jasprit Bumrah is “seriously doubtful” to turn up for the upcoming IPL 2023, as reported by Cricbuzz.
Jasprit Bumrah last played in September
The report in Cricbuzz said that Bumrah’s injury is even worse than it was thought to be earlier, and that the pacer is yet to be cleared fit by the NCA.
Not just the IPL, but the 29-year-old fast bowler is likely to miss the WTC final as well, which will be played in June in England and India are likely to reach that.
“Jasprit Bumrah’s injury appears to be more serious than it initially appeared and he could be out for a longer period than expected. As it stands now, the India spearhead is seriously doubtful for the Indian Premier League (IPL),” Cricbuzz said. “There is even a possibility that he will not be fit for the World Test Championship (WTC) final in the UK in June, should India qualify.”
“Sources in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the IPL circles have indicated that Bumrah, out of international action for almost five months, has not been feeling comfortable and he is staring at a potentially long hiatus.”
This means that Jofra Archer, who is also only recently recovered, will have to carry the MI bowling attack, as Bumrah did last year when MI finished in the last position.
The Indian management and the board are being cautious about Bumrah’s back injury, one which recurred in September after playing in 2 T20Is despite being cleared by the NCA. The management and the BCCI have made it clear that they don’t want to rush with Bumrah’s injury and are ready to give him as much time as he needs to be fit for the 2023 World Cup in October-November.
“According to sources, the target for the Indian team is to get him ready for the World Cup in October-November, if not necessarily for the Asia Cup,” the report added.
“Initially it was thought that it was not all that bad if Bumrah returned to take part in the IPL as he would be bowling only four overs in a game and the original plan was for him to handle the workload slowly and an IPL return suited the plans.
But now it will take longer and last heard, the managements of the BCCI, the NCA and the Indian team are chalking out a meticulously planned programme for his return.”
