Jasprit Bumrah is a “nightmare” for batsmen and India will badly need him for the ICC World Cup that is to start in a little over six months, says former Sri Lankan pacer Dilhara Fernando.
“Bumrah in Indian conditions is at another level. He is a nightmare for the opposition. India’s pace attack looks good, and India are top contenders at the World Cup,” Fernando told The Times of India.
Also read – Jasprit Bumrah’s Recovery Will Be Secret; Only VVS Laxman To Track Details: Report
“Bumrah is just amazing. If you look at India’s performance in the last five years, Bumrah has played a very big role. He has been leading the pace attack really well. He is a game-changer. I am not sure about his injury updates, but he will be a key player for India in the World Cup. India and Rohit (Sharma) will really need him in the World Cup,” Fernando added.
Bumrah had undergone surgery in New Zealand for his back injury and is reportedly going to be out of action for another six months. This will put him out of contention for the World Test Championship final against Australia in June and the Asia Cup in September, apart from the Indian Premier League (IPL). He is racing against time to get fit for the ICC World Cup in October-November.
Bumrah last played for India in September 2022 and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not in favour of rushing Bumrah into matches before the ICC World Cup. The main focus now is to prolong Bumrah’s career.
Bumrah had tried to get back into the mix before the ICC World T20 last year and again before the ODIs against Sri Lanka at the start of this year but had to pull out. A BCCI source told The Indian Express, in this regard, that any false move regarding Bumrah’s return could be career-ending.
“His back is in a fragile state right now. Besides, last time Bumrah’s return was hastened. Since he hadn’t fully recovered, he had discomfort while bowling on his return. This time, we are more conservative as a wrong call might even result in a career-threatening injury,” the source said.
Also read – No Rushing Jasprit Bumrah; Pacer Will Take the Long Rehab Road to 2023 World Cup
The BCCI source added that the full picture of Bumrah’s injury and the recovery process would not be immediately shared even with the national selectors and only the director of the National Cricket Academy VVS Laxman has been assigned the job of interacting with Bumrah and his medical team to track the pacer’s progress.
India are looking to win the ICC World Cup for the second time at home after Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men beat Sri Lanka in the final in Mumbai in 2011. For that, India will need their premier pacer Bumrah to be fit and firing on all cylinders. India will also look to end their ICC trophy drought, having won a premier world title the last time way back in 2013 (the ICC Champions Trophy).
Fernando, who has played 40 Tests, 147 ODIs and 18 T20Is between 2000 and 2016, was part of the Sri Lankan squad that finished runner-up to India in the 2011 edition of the ICC World Cup.
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