Fitness update on Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer

Jasprit Bumrah is going to be a vital player for India at the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 which starts on 5 October but the pacer has not played for India since the home T20Is against Australia in September in 2022. Suffering from a back niggle for a long time, the 29-year-old Mumbai Indians cricketer missed India’s T20 World Cup 2022 campaign, which ended with a semi-final defeat to England, and the World Test Championship (WTC) final 2023, which India lost to Australia by 209 runs earlier this month.

Read | India fixtures list for ICC World Cup 2023

The fast bowler also missed the entire season of IPL 2023 after undergoing surgery in New Zealand in March of this year.

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It has now been reported that Bumrah is currently at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru for rehabilitation and the good news is that the pacer’s recovery is going smoothly with him also bowling seven overs in a day.

He has so far not complained of any discomfort and it is expected that he will be match-fit by the time of the T20Is in Ireland in August. However, it’s felt that there’s no need to rush him back into action and Asia Cup could be a time for him to play for India again, a report in Indian Express said.

“For an injury of this nature, it is not wise to set any timeline as constant monitoring is necessary. But it can be said that Bumrah is recovering well and he has bowled seven overs at NCA nets. It is a steady increase in his workload from the light workouts and bowling sessions of the initial period.

“He will play a few practice matches [at NCA] next month, and there will be a close assessment of his fitness then,” a source with knowledge of the development had earlier told the news agency PTI.

Ramji Srinivasan, former strength and conditioning coach of Team India, said Bumrah should be made to play in domestic cricket before bringing him back to international cricket.

“He should not be hurried. Playing practice matches at the NCA is a good step as it will help tune his body to the demands of a match. But he should be made to play in some actual [domestic] matches before bringing him to top-level cricket.

“The demands of international cricket are different and the body should be absolutely ready to take that amount of workload. Recovering from stress fracture is a delicate exercise and Bumrah should be allowed maximum recovery time,” Ramji told PTI.

Two other crucial players for India are rehabilitating at NCA — KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer.

Both batters are crucial from the World Cup 2023 perspective and are also recovering well.

Rahul suffered a thigh injury during IPL 2023 and underwent surgery in London, while Iyer was facing issues with a bulging disc on his lower back and did surgery in London.

A report in Indian Express stated that Rahul will begin his skills training in mid-July and should be fit for the Ireland tour, however, as is the case in such injuries, no date has been fixed for the batter’s return.

Rahul is seen as the wicket-keeper option for India in the World Cup.

Iyer is undergoing physiotherapy at NCA and he is still some distance away from skills training which means the Mumbai batter may not even get fit for the Asia Cup 2023 in August-September.

Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav are to be groomed as Iyer’s replacement in case the batter fails to get fit in time.

Iyer suffered the back injury during the Sri Lanka series at home.

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