Back ‘stiffness’ stalls Bumrah return, team wants pacer in prime for ODI World Cup

“It is unlikely that he will play the New Zealand white-ball series that follows the Sri Lanka ODIs. There is very little chance that he will play all the four Tests against Australia in February-March. With the 50-overs World Cup at home later this year, we need him fully for it as his bowling action is prone to injuries,” the sources said.

In 2019, Bumrah had suffered a lower back stress fracture that ruled him out of action for close to three months. According to coaches and former players, the Gujarat pacer’s unusual action, short run-up and extra body push in the final delivery stride makes him vulnerable to injuries.

According to sources, Bumrah had cleared the fitness test at NCA in December but the selectors wanted to be conservative in his case and didn’t include him for the Sri Lanka series. However, the sources said, the think tank had second thoughts and he was included for the three ODIs after the T20 games. Once Bumrah started his post-recovery training in Mumbai, he felt a slight discomfort and this resulted in the BCCI medical advising him total rest for now.

Skipper Sharma, who is returning after injury himself, called Bumrah’s absence “unfortunate”. “He has been working really hard at NCA all this time. Just when he got back to his full fitness and started bowling… It is nothing major. But when Bumrah says anything, we have to be very cautious. That is what we did. It was very important to make that decision to just pull him out. When we named him, he was in the process of getting his workload done,” he said.

Experts argue that injured players, as a rule, should first play domestic games before returning for India assignments. Even the BCCI, in its recent review, had said that “the issues of player availability, workload management, and fitness parameters were discussed at length during the meeting along with the roadmap to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023”.

The new selection panel is also learnt to have decided that henceforth players returning from injury will be told to play domestic matches to prove their fitness levels.

In Bumrah’s case, Ramji Srinivasan, former strength and conditioning coach of the team that won the 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy, told The Indian Express that match simulation will not suffice as a player’s psyche is “completely different” during a match.

“He should have played at least a couple of domestic matches and then seen how his recovery was and how he was progressing from there. Match situations are completely different because a bowler puts in a lot of planning. Each ball is planned and if you are hit for a couple of boundaries, your mind and body works differently. The tactical aspect also varies, including the delivery you bowl. For any player who is returning from a back injury, it is always good if you test him in a match,” said Srinivasan.