Team India suffered a big blow a few weeks before the start of the T20 World Cup 2022 as Jasprit Bumrah suffered a back issue. The BCCI has confirmed that he is out of the bilateral series against South Africa due to a back problem. The board is hoping that he will be fit for the ICC event.
Before the BCCI confirmed this news, PTI reported that the senior pacer has suffered a stress fracture in his back and had been ruled out of the tournament. There has been no official word regarding Bumrah’s status for WC and he is still part of the squad.
A day before the 2nd T20I against South Africa in Guwahati, India head coach Rahul Dravid also commented on the matter and he seemed confident of Bumrah recovering in time. Speaking to the press, Dravid said that won’t rule out Bumrah till the news is official.
“So as of now, (Bumrah) officially has been ruled out, as you know, from this series against South Africa. He has gone to the NCA. And we are waiting for the official confirmation on the next steps. So, as of now officially he is only out of this series, but we’ll see what happens over the next few days. And, and once we get some official confirmation, then we’ll be able to share that,” Dravid said.
“I honestly haven’t gone deeply into the medical reports. I mean, I rely on the experts to tell me what is happening. He is being assessed. And we’ll know in due course, whether he’s what happens in the future. And obviously, till he is completely ruled out till I get official confirmation that he is ruled out, we will always be hopeful. We will always hope for the best not just for us as a team, but also just as individuals, we will always hope for the best for the remainder of the matches.”
Surely, the team management is confident of Bumrah being available as he is a vital cog in the team’s wheel. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the only other senior pacer in the team and Bumrah’s absence will definitely dent India’s chances.
The selection committee had named Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Shami among standbys and one of them is confirmed to replace him in the squad. Ravi Bishnoi and Shreyas Iyer are two other players on standby.
Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel are two pacers in India’s T20 World Cup squad while Hardik Pandya is the sole pace-bowling all-rounder. Rohit Sharma will be making his captaincy in an ICC event in the 8th edition of the tournament.
