With spearhead Jasprit Bumrah doubtful for the tournament due to a back injury, India’s T20 World Cup campaign faces a major setback. Bumrah travelled to Bengaluru on Wednesday for new scans on his back, and the results are still pending.
Bumrah missed the Asia Cup in August and September due to a back injury, but he was subsequently selected for the home T20I series against Australia and South Africa. He took 1 for 23 and 0 for 50 in the second and third T20Is against Australia on September 23 and 25, respectively, before missing the first match against South Africa on September 28 due to back pain.
“After the toss of the first T20I against South Africa, Jasprit Bumrah complained of back pain during India’s practise session on Tuesday,” the BCCI said on Twitter. “He was evaluated by the BCCI medical team. He will not play in the first #INDvSA T20I.”
However, according to PTI, the fast bowler will miss the T20 World Cup, citing a BCCI official who said Bumrah could be out for months. “Bumrah will almost certainly not play in the World T20. He suffers from a severe back condition “According to a BCCI official, “He has a stress fracture and could be out for six months.”
For the World Cup, India has two fast bowlers in reserve: Mohammed Shami and Deepak Chahar. Teams that have directly qualified for the Super 12 round of the tournament, such as India, can make changes to their squad until October 15.
If Bumrah fails to make the cut, he will be the second major player to be ruled out of the tournament, following allrounder Ravindra Jadeja’s knee injury.
India is in Group 2 of the T20 World Cup Super 12 round, alongside Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, and two teams from the qualifying round. On October 23, India will kick off their campaign against Pakistan at the MCG.
India’s T20 World Cup squad includes: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah*,
Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, and Deepak Chahar are the reserves.
