India have suffered a blow ahead of the forthcoming test series with South Africa with the news that their main strike bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, will miss all three matches. Umesh Yadav has been called up as a replacement and will take his place in the squad.
That is after he was diagnosed as having a minor stress fracture in his lower back, following a routine radiological screening. The injury is not expected to be long-term, but in the meantime, he will be rested and will undertake a rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Association (NCA) where he will be monitored by the medical team of the BCCI (Board of Control of Cricket India).
25 year old Bumrah, who was recently described by his captain, Virat Kohli, as “the most complete bowler in the world”, had, ironically, been left out of the recent T20I series against South Africa in order to rest him for the tests, but now he will be given an extended period on the side-lines.
In part, the injury may be due to the general strains placed on international cricketers, which comes from playing the game all year round, in different formats, conditions, and countries, with the body subject to constant hard work.
However, Bumrah’s unusual action may also be a contributory factor. He uses a short run-up and pushes both arms out in front of him, hyperextending his elbow in the delivery stride, whilst producing a whipping motion. This enables him to get swing and dip, but it also puts strain on his lower back. At the same time, he plants his front foot straight in the turf, exerting further pressure on his lumbar vertebrae.
Despite that, he has so far missed relatively little cricket with injury since making his test debut in Cape Town last January, and that was for a different reason altogether. A thumb injury caused him to miss two tests against England last summer.
At the same time, Kohli and India coach Ravi Shastri are aware of Bumrah’s issues and have tended to rest him where they can. Apart from the T20I series against South Africa recently, he has also been excused duty from limited over series against the West Indies, Australia and New Zealand.
Bumrah is number 3 in the ICC Test rankings and is rated the number ODI bowler in the world. He has played 12 test matches in all, taking 55 wickets at an average of 20.63, with best bowling figures of 6 – 27 in the recent test against West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.
