One of the biggest concerns for Indian cricket team in 2023 has been the fitness of their fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah who has been laid low by a back injury for months now and to fix it, he underwent a surgery earlier this year which prolonged his comeback to competitive cricket.
After months of speculations, the BCCI provided a definitive update on the bowler’s fitness by naming him captain for the upcoming Ireland T20I series.
Bumrah was undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy and took part in practice games organised by the facility. The development would have come as music to India ODI captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid as they begin fine-tuning preparations for the world cup starting in less than two months’ time.
Certainly, the return of Bumrah will strengthen India’s bowling attack which has done fairly well in his absence but former allrounder Madan Lal has warned the the team to not be overly reliant on one man to change their fortunes as they aim to win their first ICC title in 10 years.
“It is good that he (Bumrah) is going to Ireland,” Lal told news agency ANI. “He will get to play matches and get to know where he stands with regard to his fitness. He will have to play matches and maintain continuity. It is really important that he plays the World Cup and should not take any unnecessary chances.”
He added, “Though Bumrah is an asset for us, one bowler cannot change everything. Our bowling will have to perform as a unit. If they do not do well for us, it would become difficult for us.”
Besides Bumrah, the team is also sweating over the fitness of middle-order batters Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. In their absence, India have given chances to Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson and Lal feels that the onus is on them to now prove their worth.
“They (middle order) batters are playing regularly, getting exposure. If you do not perform, what is all this hard work worth? It is up to players to perform, it will make the middle order strong and confident. If we have a good middle order, only then India will have a chance to win the WC,” he said.
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