BCCI set to take major decision on Bumrah's return as rare video shows India star bowling full-throttle in nets - Watch
According to a report, Jasprit Bumrah is making swift progress in his fitness and could make a return to Team India sooner rather than later.
Over the past year, Team India faced multiple injuries to some of their key players that impacted the side's performances in key calendar events. Among batters, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul remain out of injury – both failed to recover in time for the World Test Championship final last month, where India faced a 209-run defeat to Australia. Rishabh Pant has been away since the start of the year after a severe car crash but one of the longest injury absences has been that of fast bower Jasprit Bumrah.
The premier pacer last appeared for the side in a T20I series against Australia in September last year, which many deemed a hurried comeback as the pacer struggled with back injury. He was eventually ruled out of the T20 World Cup later in this year, where his presence was severely missed as India bowed out in the semi-finals. Since then, Bumrah underwent a back surgery in March earlier this year and continues to undergo recovery process at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. But a latest report indicates that the long wait for Bumrah's return might come to an end pretty soon.
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According to Indian Express, Bumrah might make a return to Team India in its three-match T20I series in Ireland, that takes place next month. The report states that Bumrah is bowling close to 8-10 overs-a-day, and is bowling full-throttle in the nets.
The report further indicates that Bumrah didn't show any discomfort during the net sessions and might even play in practice matches at the NCA, where camps are underway. In addition to Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna has also resumed bowling; the India pacer had undergone surgery for a lumbar stress fracture during the IPL earlier this year.
Incidentally, as the report over Bumrah's recovery came out, a video has also surfaced of Bumrah bowling in the nets without any visible discomfort. A user posted the video on Twitter, albeit with a bird's eye view. Watch:
Bumrah had last played a Test for India against England in July last year, where he had also captained the side after Rohit Sharma was ruled out with Covid infection. Following India's resounding 1st Test win over West Indies on Friday, the side's bowling coach Paras Mhambrey also conceded that the bowling attack misses the presence of Bumrah.
"Injuries and workload of bowlers is a big concern. If you look at the last one-and-a-half years, Bumrah is a player who we have missed a lot. We have not decided who is going to play white ball and who red ball but eventually we have to give breaks to our bowlers," Mhambrey had said.
