Mumbai: It’s been three months since Jasprit Bumrah was whisked away from the Sydney Cricket Ground parking lot during the final Test to undergo scans on his back. A full disclosure of his fitness status is still awaited while India’s lead speedster continues to be sidelined.

From giving rookie Aussie opener Sam Konstas a harsh welcome to Test cricket and Usman Khawaja nightmares, Bumrah delivered some of the best fast bowling spells during the Australian summer. Whether he can repeat that over the stretch of a long Test series, no one can safely predict.

Mumbai: It’s been three months since Jasprit Bumrah was whisked away from the Sydney Cricket Ground parking lot during the final Test to undergo scans on his back. A full disclosure of his fitness status is still awaited while India’s lead speedster continues to be sidelined.

From giving rookie Aussie opener Sam Konstas a harsh welcome to Test cricket and Usman Khawaja nightmares, Bumrah delivered some of the best fast bowling spells during the Australian summer. Whether he can repeat that over the stretch of a long Test series, no one can safely predict.

India’s next away tour is another five-Test series in England starting June 20, but that’s not Bumrah’s immediate target. The fast bowler is currently undergoing rehabilitation at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, awaiting clearance to begin IPL action for Mumbai Indians. Information from within BCCI suggests he is not suffering from a stress fracture, but they want to be careful to ensure the injury does not turn into one.

Having battled back trouble throughout his career, Australia’s former pace bowling allrounder Shane Watson advocates a conservative approach for Bumrah.

“I had consistent back injuries throughout my career and Jasprit bowled a lot more than I did,” Watson, who recently played for the International Masters League, told HT. “Until I was probably 27, I tried to push the limit to bowl as much as I could. But my back didn’t end up handling it that well. But knowing, especially if you’ve got a stress reaction, especially an overuse injury, that’s just where the Indian hierarchy, whether it’s the captain, but also the physios, the medical staff, the coaches, they really do have to manage Jasprit’s workload so that they don’t over bowl him.”

Bumrah has missed 35% of the Tests India have played since his 2018 debut in South Africa. His workload has been managed so that his body is not overburdened due to the exertion caused by his unconventional front-on bowling action, especially an unusual delivery action and a hyperextended elbow that produces express deliveries and examines batting techniques. Bumrah suffered a stress fracture of the lower-back in 2019 and another back injury in 2022 before the latest setback in January.

Australia was the first time that Bumrah played in all the five Tests in a series – he bowled 151.2 overs in all – before he was forced to drop out of the Sydney Test after delivering 10 overs in the first innings.

“Going ahead, they’ve got to manage the amount he bowls much more carefully because he certainly did bowl a lot of overs during the Australian summer,” said Watson. “You can get to a stage where it causes an overuse injury, and unfortunately now he’s had to sit out of the Champions Trophy, he’s not playing the first part of IPL; whether he will play a part in the IPL, it’s not known. You prefer him to be slightly under the amount that he bowls than pushing him over the limit like what happened in Australia.”

India captain Rohit Sharma used Bumrah in short bursts in the fourth Test in Melbourne, but a lack of wicket-taking support throughout the series may have led to the overuse of the prime bowler.

“Look, the way you learn about how to manage yourself is by pushing the limit and breaking. If you never push the limit, you don’t know what your limit is. That’s obviously what’s happened with Jasprit over the last few years,” said Watson. “Now they know what the breaking point is. So, they just have to work up and try not to push that breaking point again because no one wants to see Jasprit missing out on cricket. He’s a freak of nature, he really is. He’s superhuman with what he’s able to do with the ball.”