sydney
Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who is suffering from back spasms, is likely to be rested for most of the matches on England’s tour of India with an eye on the ICC Champions Trophy starting on February 19. Bumrah was India’s best player with 32 wickets in the 1-3 defeat at the hands of Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that concluded on Sunday. The 30-year-old player could not bowl in Australia’s second innings due to back spasms. He bowled more than 150 overs in this five-match series. Bumrah has suffered an injury due to excessive workload and the BCCI medical team will try to ensure that he is ready for the major ICC event. India’s performance in this tournament will largely depend on the presence of Bumrah.
A source close to the matter said that the grade (level of injury) of Bumrah’s back spasm is not yet known. India will begin its Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai. If Bumrah’s injury is in grade one category, he will have to spend at least three weeks in rehabilitation before returning to the game (RTP i.e. Return to Play). A grade two injury can take up to six weeks to recover from, while a grade three injury, considered serious, requires at least three months of rest and rehabilitation.
It was almost decided that Bumrah would not play the T20 series against England because there is not a big event like T20 World Cup this year. In view of the Champions Trophy, he was expected to play at least two out of three ODI matches against England.
Now, however, the severity of his injury will determine whether he will be able to play in the ODI series against England or not. The last match of this series will be held on 12th February in Ahmedabad. India’s tour of England will start from January 22 with a 5-match T20 series, followed by a three-match ODI series.
