Ravi Shastri cautioned against Jasprit Bumrah being rushed back into the Indian team ahead of the ICC World Cup at home later this year, saying that the team management needed to avoid the mistake Pakistan did with Shaheen Afridi last year. Bumrah has been out of action since September last year due to a back injury and also missed out on India’s Asia Cup and T20 World Cup campaigns. Bumrah would also skip the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year after failing to regain fitness on time. Shastri, who had served as India’s head coach for a period of five years in two different stints besides in an interim capacity in 2007, felt Bumrah deserved all the time that he would need to get fully fit before making a return to the cricket field. He cited the example of Pakistan pacer Afridi, who ended up getting ruled out for four months after playing in last year’s T20 World Cup in Australia despite not fully recovering from a knee injury that he had picked up earlier that year.“You want him fit because he is such a world-class operator. But, you want him fully fit, because he is such an important cricketer. If you rush him and lose him for four months after that, like Shaheen Afridi…. (Pakistan) rushed him into the T20 World Cup and he was out for four months.
“You have to think of the individual and individuals have to think of themselves. Sometimes, you want to go back too soon and it can be a costly error. That is something you have to look at,” the cricketer-turned-commentator told The Week. The Indian team management has reportedly been planning to bring Bumrah back into action in the tour of Ireland in August that takes place right after their tour of the Caribbean and the United States. The Indian selectors have not yet announced the squad for the five-match T20I series against the West Indies, which is scheduled from August 3 to 13. While that series may be a little too early for his recall, the subsequent assignment against Ireland, with games on August 18, 20 and 23, is being targeted by the Indian team's management.The ultimate target, of course, is to have him up to speed for the World Cup in October-November through the Asia Cup in September preceding it. However, before utilising him in the 50-over games, the Indian think-tank wants to test the waters in the T20s.Bumrah has been out of action since September last year, initially due to back problems and later for back surgery. He is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the NCA in Bengaluru, and the word is that he has made a 70 per cent recovery. With the Ireland games just around two months away, the think-tank is not only hopeful but also optimistic that he will be ready for the games in Dublin. By then, he would have had six months of rest and rehab since the surgery.Bumrah is among the several key Indian players sitting out due to injury and other physical issus. Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer too is suffering from a back problem and hasn’t played since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in March.
