 "Good news for Team India and Mumbai Indians! Jasprit Bumrah begins bowling at NCA ahead of IPL 2025 (WATCH)")
synopsis
Team India and Mumbai Indians pacer Jasprit Bumrah is expected to fit in time for the IPL 2025, which will take place in March.
Team India pacer Jasprit Bumrah has returned to bowling at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru ahead of the IPL 2025 on Thursday, February 27. Bumrah was ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025 due to lower back injury, which he sustained during the Sydney Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
The 31-year-old was included in the preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy 2025, but he was replaced by Harshit Rana in the final squad submitted to ICC after Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah would not be available for the entire tournament due to back injury. Though the scans report submitted by NCA medical head Nitin Patel to BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar reportedly revealed there was nothing serious on his back. Agarkar did not want to risk his injury.
After being ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025, Jasprit Bumrah began his training and recovery at the NCA. The pacer gave good news to Team India and Mumbai Indians as he began bowling in the nets at the NCA. In a video posted by Bumrah on its Instagram handle, he was seen bowling at full throttle without showing any sign of discomfort. He even rattled the stumps with a brilliant yorker, his usual weapon that has troubled the best batters in the world. Along with the video, Bumrah captioned ‘progress everyday’ with a background music of Jennifer Lawrence’s The Hanging Tree.
Watch: Jasprit Bumrah bowling at NCA
Jasprit Bumrah was recently in Dubai to witness the high-stakes clash between India and Pakistan, which Men in Blue eventually won by six wickets to secure their spot in the semifinal. Ahead of the clash, Bumrah interacted with his Indian teammates during the team’s practice session, having a light-hearted conversation with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and other players.
Additionally, Bumrah collected his ICC Awards which he won last month. for his performance across all formats last year. Bumrah was awarded ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year and Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year. The Indian pacer was also included in the ICC Men’s Test and T20I teams of the year. He was the highest wicket-taker across all formats with 86 wickets and played a vital role in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 triumph, winning the Player of the Tournament award for his bowling brilliance, having taken 15 wickets.
In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, though India lost the series, the pacer was awarded Player of the Series as he was highest wicket-taker with 32 wickets in nine innings.
Jasprit Bumrah likely to be appointed as Test captain
Jasprit Bumrah is currently on the selection committee’s radar as the potential skipper for the Test format. Earlier this month, the reports emerged that the selectors are looking to move on from Rohit Sharma as the BCCI asked the Team India skipper during the review meeting to communicate his future plans to the board after the Champions Trophy 2025.
Rohit Sharma’s inconsistent performance in the red-ball cricket, especially the disastrous Test series against Australia, selectors are looking at a captain for long-term. Jasprit Bumrah led Team India in two Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, winning one in Perth and losing another in Sydney. Bumrah was stand-in skipper for Team India after Rohit was ruled out of the Edgbaston Test against England due to COVID-19 in 2022.
With Rohit Sharma unlikely to get picked for the Test tour of England, Jasprit Bumrah is expected to take up captaincy duties, having led the team in challenging conditions in the past. However, Bumrah’s captaincy will all depend on his fitness, as injuries have plagued his career over the last couple of years.
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