(UTV | NEW DELHI) – India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia from October 16, with a stress fracture.
Bumrah was earlier ruled out of the Asia Cup due to a back injury. In his last T20I on September 25, the third and final match against Australia, he had conceded 50 off four overs – his worst T20I figures.
He is being monitored by the BCCI medical team. Given his recurring back injury, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is unwilling to take chances with the fitness of one of its key players during a World Cup. “He returned to the Indian team recently, but ahead of the T20s against South Africa, he complained of back pain and was not included for the first T20I. The medical team assessed him and it was decided that Bumrah will be out of action for at least four to six weeks,” a BCCI insider said. “In case of such injuries, you cannot put a timeline for recovery. At this point in time, it is highly unlikely that he will travel to Australia…”
This brings Mohammed Shami, originally named as a standby, into the mix. However, Shami was not a part of the T20Is against Australia and South Africa as he did not recover from Covid-19 in time.
Bumrah’s injury setback puts a question mark of India’s bowling makeup in the leadup to the major event. He is the second player to be ruled out after Ravindra Jadeja, who is recovering from a knee surgery.
Since India is among the teams that have qualified for the Super 12 stage of the World Cup, it can make changes to its squad till October 15.
