After 11 months out of action, Jasprit Bumrah feels confident on his return to the Indian Cricket Team. Leading the side in the IND vs IRE series, the T20s will prove to be a litmus test for India’s premier pacer. Bumrah has bowled full throttle in the nets leading up to the series. His fitness will be monitored accordingly with the Asia Cup and World Cup on the horizon.
Ahead of the IND vs IRE 1st T20, Bumrah addressed a press conference, speaking about his return and rehabilitation. Given his status as India’s most potent bowler, there was a great deal of pressure on the Indian pacer during rehabilitation. However, the 28-year-old is happy to be back and hasn’t paid heed to any comments on the same.
“All good. Very happy to be back. Been working really hard at the NCA. It’s been a long road but everything is good, my body feels good and I’m looking forward to playing some cricket. Feels nice to be back. I want game time and it’ll be great to play again so I am looking forward to it,” Bumrah told the reporters.
The Ireland series is Bumrah’s calling before the Asia Cup and the World Cup. While the t20s will only require him to bowl a maximum of four overs per game, the ODIs will certainly be more demanding. While fears remain of a recurrence of the injury, the Mumbai Indians pacer said that he was not holding himself back. Bumrah added that he trusts the work he puts in and is always preparing to bowl 10–15 overs a day.
“I was bowling normally [in the nets]. It’s not like I am holding back. When my rehabilitation ended, I went home too and even practiced with the Gujarat team. I’ve done a lot of net sessions in a lot of places, and I’ve even played a lot of practice matches. In my rehabilitation as well, I was never preparing for a T20 game. I was always preparing for a World Cup competition. So I have been bowling 10, 12.. even 15 overs. I have bowled more overs so it becomes easier to bowl less than what is required,” Bumrah added.
‘Focused on the positives, recovery frustrating’
Jasprit Bumrah has struggled with a recurring back injury, first suffered in September. He missed the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup last year. He was rushed into action earlier this year but failed to make the cut. He subsequently underwent surgery, missing the IPL and the WTC final. Captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid have often spoken about how much the team has missed Bumrah. While the process was frustrating, the India pacer said that he was working more towards solutions than focusing on the negatives.
“At times, when the injury takes time to fully heal it can get frustrating. But instead of having self-doubts that maybe I won’t recover, I was only thinking about how to get better and how quickly I can get back to the field. Obviously, it is important that when the body needs time, you respect it. There were problems so I was thinking how I can solve them. Once the solutions came around, I was feeling good that I will slowly come back now and work my way up,” he added.
As Jasprit Bumrah sets out for the toss in the first T20I against Ireland on Friday (August 18), he will become the first fast bowler to lead India in T20Is. The pacer will be the 11th captain to lead India in the shortest format. The IND vs IRE T20 series kicks off on August 18.
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