Bumrah could miss first two Tests against Australia

India's precautionary measures of pulling Jasprit Bumrah out of the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka might not be enough to make the pacer play the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. 

Bumrah is unlikely to feature in the entire New Zealand limited-overs series and at least the first couple of Test matches against Australia, reported ESPNCricinfo. 

Exactly a month before the first of the four Tests against Australia starting on 9 February  in Nagpur, Bumrah was withdrawn from Sri Lanka ODIs on the eve of the series opener Guwahati after the right-arm seamer felt discomfort on his back.

It was anyway a late call to add Bumrah to the ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series. The selectors straightaway drafted him into the setup after getting a green signal from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) where Bumrah has been undergoing his rehabilitation for quite some time. But just when it was looking all rosy for Bumrah and India, the pacer felt some discomfort on his back in a match simulation training.

The 29-year-old fast bowler cleared the match simulation on the first day but complained of back issues when the load was increased the next day. The team immediately management decided to pull him out of the ODI squad, not taking any chances, keeping the Australia Tests, Asia Cup, and ODI World Cup in mind. The physios and support staff are doubly conscious after a decision to hasten Bumrah's return proved disastrous last year, ruling him out of the T20 World Cup. Bumrah played just a couple of T20Is against Australia in September after returning from a long injury layoff, only to hurt his back again.

However, if things go according to plan, the best Bumrah can manage is the final two Tests against Australia in Dharamshala and Ahmedabad in March. "After clearing those tests at the NCA last week, Bumrah had fresh bowling tests in Mumbai under the supervision of Nitin Patel, the head of NCA's sports science wing and the final authority on a player's fitness clearance. It was after those tests, combined with the scan results, that it was determined Bumrah would need more rehab time," the report said.

The report further added that Bumrah would require three more weeks of rest before he starts bowling at full tilt again, effectively ruling him out of the first half of the Australia Test series.

While talking about Bumrah, India captain Rohit Sharma said they have to be extra cautious with Bumrah because of the quality he brings to the table.

"It's an unfortunate incident with him [Bumrah]. The poor guy had been working very hard at the NCA all this time. Just when he got back to full fitness, he started bowling and everything, the last two days I think this incident happened where he felt a little bit of stiffness in his back. It's nothing major, it's just stiffness. [But] when Bumrah says anything we have to be very cautious about it. I thought it was important for us to make that decision then, to just pull him out. When we named him [in the squad], he was in the process of getting his workload done. We need to be very careful with him. He had a major injury before the [T20] World Cup. So we just need to be careful," he said ahead of the first ODI against Sri Lanka.