Jasprit Bumrah returns to international cricket for the first time in nearly a year. It has been exactly 327 days since the Indian pacer last donned the India jersey. While an attempt was made to rush the speedster back into the playing 11, each time his injury worsened before it was decided to give him a long time-off to completely recover from his injury. Between Bumrah's last international appearance on September 25, 2022, and the first T20I vs Ireland on August 18, a lot has happened in the Indian cricket circuit.
Here is a look at the timeline:
September 25, 2022: Bumrah's last international match for India before the T20I vs Ireland on August 18, 2023. He was far from his best in this game, giving away 50 runs in his 4 overs and going wicketless.
Test Series Bumrah Missed
December 2022: India's two-match Test series against Bangladesh (India Win Away Series 2-0)
February-March 2023: India's four-match Test series against Australia at home (India Win Home Series 2-1)
June 2023: World Test Championship 2021-23 Final (India Lose WTC 2023 Final Against Australia At Oval, London)
July 2023: India's two-match Test Series against West Indies (India Win Away Series 1-0)
ODI Series Bumrah Missed
October 2022- India's three-match ODI series against South Africa (India Win Home Series 2-1)
November 2022- India's three-match ODI series against New Zealand (India Lose Away Series 1-0)
December 2022- India's three-match ODI series against Bangladesh (India Lose Away Series 2-1)
January 2023- India's three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka (India Win Home Series 3-0)
January 2023- India's three-match ODI series against New Zealand (India Win Home Series 3-0)
March 2023- India's three-match ODI series against Australia (India Lose Home Series 2-1)
July- August 2023- India's three-match ODI series against West Indies (India Lose Away Series 2-1)
T20I Series Bumrah Missed:
September-October 2022- India's three-match T20I series against South Africa (India Win Home Series 2-1)
October-November 2022- T20 World Cup- India qualify to Semis. Lose Knockout Match Against England By 10 Wickets At Adelaide Oval. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul among players who haven't played a T20I since. Hardik Pandya has been leading the side in T20Is.
November 2022- India's three-match T20I series against New Zealand (India Win Away Series 1-0)
January 2023- India's three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka (India Win Home Series 2-1)
August 2023- India's five-match T20I Series against West Indies (India Lose Away Series 3-2)
Thus, while India did reasonably well in bilateral cricket competitions even without Bumrah, they had two chances to win an ICC trophy with him being sidelined due to an injury. On both those occasions, India were completely outplayed by their opponents -- first in the T20 World Cup semifinal against England and then against Australia in the WTC Final. Before this, Bumrah had also missed out on Asia Cup 2022 and there, too, the Men in Blue failed to make it to the summit clash.
With Bumrah being India's big match player, a lot of eyeballs will be on him when he takes his bowling mark in the first T20I against Ireland. The 29-year-old will captain the side in his comeback game and the selectors, management and every Indian cricket fan would be keeping a close eye on how this series transpires for him in the build-up to the Asia Cup and ODI World Cup 2023.