In what comes as a major blow to Team India's plans in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, star speedster Jasprit Bumrah could be ruled out of the entire Test series against Australia at home. While Bumrah was not part of the India squad for the first Two Test matches as he continues to recover from an injury, fresh report suggests the India pace spearhead could miss even the last two Test matches.
A report carried by Telegraph claims that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to not risk Bumrah especially when there is an ODI World Cup set to be played later this year. The Indian Cricket Board feels that spinners expected to do most of the wicket-taking this series, Bumrah can be allowed to give more time to recover completely from his injuries. BCCI sources have been quoted by Telegraph saying the fast bowler has been practicing at full-intensity at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.
Bumrah's last international appearance came in September 2022
It is pertinent to note that Bumrah has been out of action since September last year and even missed the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Meanwhile, a call on whether the 29-year-old will be seen in the ODI series against Australia beginning on March 17 is yet to be taken.
Bumrah suffered a back injury during West Indies tour in August, he returned to playing cricket in September but was apparently rushed which aggravated his injury and he was ruled out of the World Cup. Later when he was set to make his return in the ODIs against Sri Lanka, he sustained another niggle which had ruled him out of the ODIs against New Zealand as well as the first two Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
With Bumrah now likely to miss the entire series, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj will continue to lead India's pace battery with the likes of Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat also in the squad.