Jasprit Bumrah, who completed the greatest show by an Indian fast bowler in a Test series with a record 32 wickets in the tour of Australia, incurred a heartbreaking end to his campaign in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. The player Jasprit Bumrah who single-handedly carried India’s hopes throughout the contest amid the fading superstars, the dwindling performance from the batters and the lack of bowling depth in the squad eventually bowed out of the series a day before the end of the decider in Sydney with a back injury.
BCCI’s medical team has yet to give an official update on the degree of Jasprit Bumrah’s apparent back injury. If Jasprit Bumrah’s injury is in grade 1 category, then it will take a minimum two to three weeks of rehabilitation before Return to Play (RTP). In case of Grade 2 injury, the recovery can go up to six weeks while Grade 3, the most severe in nature, requires a minimum three months of rest and rehabilitation programmes.
Jasprit Bumrah single handedly carried India’s challenge in BGT 2024-25
After going 0-3 down in the Test series against New Zealand at home, India suffered yet another setback. After a long gap of 10 years, they lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia, with the latter clinching the series 3-1. While India struggled significantly in batting throughout the series, they kept themselves in the game with their bowling attack.
While it may look like India’s bowlers did a great job as a unit, in reality, one man stood consistently while others only performed in bits and pieces. That bowler was Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who led from the front despite having little to no support from other bowlers across five games. But, as the saying goes, everything has a limit. Jasprit Bumrah’s constant approach of putting everything on his shoulders eventually took a toll on his body, and he picked up a back injury in the final Test at Sydney, ruling him out of bowling in the second innings.
Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness is now a significant concern for India, which is set to host England for the T20 and ODI series before moving to the UAE for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. But will we see the star Indian pacer taking the field on both occasions or at least for the ICC Champions Trophy That remains a big question.
The series against Australia started with Jasprit Bumrah not only leading the bowling attack but also being handed the additional responsibility of captaincy in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma. The pacer accepted the task wholeheartedly, bowling 30 overs in the match and taking 8 wickets to help India go 1-0 up in the series.
Jasprit Bumrah did get support from other bowlers in the first match, but the real trouble started after that. With other bowlers failing to deliver consistently, Bumrah was asked to bowl extended marathon spells by returning skipper Rohit Sharma. The pacer bowled 24 overs in Adelaide, 34 in Brisbane, and 53.2 overs in Melbourne, taking the total number of overs bowled by him in the series to 141.2.
He started to look uncomfortable by the second innings of the Melbourne Test but still took the field for India as skipper in the final Test at Sydney. However, after bowling only 10 overs in the first innings, he suffered a back spasm and was rushed to a nearby medical centre for a scan to identify the extent of the injury.
Jasprit Bumrah had a terrific series and claimed 32 wickets at an average of 13.06, with three five-fers and two four-fers. Siraj was India’s second-leading wicket-taker in BGT 2024-25. The right-arm pacer claimed 20 wickets in five Tests at an average of 31.15, with a best of 4-98.
Prasidh played one Test and impressed with six scalps at an average of 17.83. Reddy managed only five wickets in five Tests, Akash Deep five in two and Harshit four in two.
Former batter Sanjay Manjrekar expresses concern over India’s pace resources after BGT 2024-25 debacle and Jasprit Bumrah’s injury
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar raised concerns over India’s fast bowling resources after the visitors’ 3-1 loss in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Questioning India’s team selection for the fifth Test in Sydney and the series overall, Manjrekar commented that in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence on Day 3 of the SCG Test, India’s bowling became a mockery.
Australia beat India by six wickets in Sydney on Sunday, January 5 to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years and also seal their place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Chasing a target of 162 in the fifth Test, the Aussies cruised home in just 27 overs as Bumrah couldn’t bowl due to back spasms.
During a discussion on ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar slammed India’s decision to go in with two spinners on a grassy surface. He opined that once Bumrah got injured, India’s bowling got completely exposed. The former batter opined:
“Going in with two (three) seam bowlers and one Nitish Kumar Reddy on a pitch like that was just crazy. You saw it became just a mockery when Bumrah wasn’t there. They had to just bowl Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna before Siraj had to eventually leave the field. That is what you have to be really disappointed about.”
The 59-year-old further opined that India struggled to make an impact with the ball in BGT 2024-25 because of the lack of experience in the pace bowling department. He urged India to take a serious look at their resources and suggested that they could try blooding a speedster into the Test arena. Manjrekar elaborated:
“India were carrying two-three inexperienced seamers. Harshit Rana impressed in one game. Second game lackluster, dropped for the third Test. Akash Deep played a couple of matches, Prasidh Krishna comes in (after Akash Deep got injured).
“So they didn’t stick to one bowler. India need to look at their bowling. I wonder whether India can also think of having a speedster. There are couple who are out there. That’s a focus area for India,” he added.
Both Harshit and Reddy were handed their Test debut in the first match of the series in Perth. While the former was dropped after the second Test, the latter played all five matches.
Jasprit Bumrah has been a crucial part of India’s bowling attack for quite some time now, as seen in both the ICC World Cup 2023 and the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The pacer took 20 and 15 wickets in these tournaments, respectively, and was India’s second-highest wicket-taker on both occasions.
This proves he is capable of playing both the roles of an attacking and a supporting bowler when needed. If he is to miss the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, India will not only lose one of their most brilliant bowlers for an extremely important event but will also suffer a psychological blow, as no other Indian bowler is currently operating at the level Jasprit Bumrah has reached in recent years.