India’s pace-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah sustained a lower back injury in the Sydney Test earlier this year. Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and there are reports that he can miss upto two weeks of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction.
While Mumbai Indians (MI) are sweating over his availability, their former bowling coach Shane Bond has urged India head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma to not make the mistake of playing Jasprit Bumrah for two Tests in a row on England tour starting June later this year.
Jasprit Bumrah’s back injury in BGT 2024-25 and current status
In a big blow to India, ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 starting February 19. Jasprit Bumrah who sustained a back injury during the final Test against Australia in Sydney last month, has failed to attain full fitness and is replaced in the squad by Harshit Rana. This will be the second time in the last five years that Jasprit Bumrah has missed a big ICC tournament due to injury, with the previous instance being the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
In a shocking turn of events, India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been left out of the squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 despite being medically cleared by the National Cricket Academy (NCA). The decision, taken by chief selector Ajit Agarkar and his panel, has sparked widespread debate, with fans and experts questioning whether the move was too cautious or a necessary precaution.
The NCA, which oversees the rehabilitation of injured players, had reportedly given Bumrah a clean bill of health, declaring him “medically fit.” However, match fitness—an entirely different benchmark—was where the concerns lay. According to reports, Jasprit Bumrah had not yet bowled at full intensity in a competitive environment, raising doubts about his ability to endure the rigors of a high-stakes tournament like the Champions Trophy 2025.
A top BCCI source revealed to PTI, “Bumrah’s scan reports were clear, and he had completed his rehabilitation. However, the NCA left the final decision to the selectors, as he had not yet been tested in a match situation.”
The development is a major setback for India going into the Champions Trophy, which they have won twice in 2002 and 2013. Jasprit Bumrah’s performances across formats since returning from his previous lengthy absence from back injury led to him being widely accepted as the best bowler in the world across formats. The 31-year-old was player of the tournament in India’s successful 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, taking 15 wickets at a ridiculous average of 8.26
Jasprit Bumrah then practically carried the Indian attack throughout the five-match Test series in Australia, which the visitors lost 3-1. While the rest of India’s bowlers left much to be desired, Jasprit Bumrah’s performance had been rated at various points as one of the greatest individual performances by a player in a Test series in Australia. The 31-year-old finished with 32 wickets in nine innings at an incredible average of 13.06.
India’s reliance on Jasprit Bumrah resulted in him bowling lengthy spells during the tour. He was even seen wearily asking captain Rohit Sharma not to hand the old ball to him in Melbourne during the fourth Test. The workload finally seemed to have taken a toll during Day 2 of the fifth Test when Jasprit Bumrah, who was captain for the match with Rohit sitting out, walked off the field in Sydney and was eventually spotted leaving the stadium altogether for scans. He could not bowl in the Indian second innings.
Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar had said in January, while announcing the squad for the ongoing ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy, that he was hoping that Bumrah gets fit enough to play the last match of the former.
“With Bumrah, we are waiting to hear about his fitness and when he’s likely to be available,” Agarkar had said in the press conference in Mumbai with Rohit beside him. ”
At the moment I don’t think he is likely to be fit for the first couple of games at least from what we gather. We will probably hear more in the next week or so about his fitness.”
Jasprit Bumrah’s unique action has been a weapon for him. However, it has also regularly put a strain on his back over the course of his career. In September 2019, Bumrah was diagnosed with a “minor stress fracture in his lower back” and was sidelined for about three months. In 2022, he was forced to sit out the Asia Cup in August and September before missing the T20 World Cup that year.
On this occasion, he was forced to undergo surgery and a lengthy recovery period followed in which he missed 10 months worth of cricket action before returning as captain in India’s three-match T20I series in Ireland in July 2023. India however despite Bumrah’s absence went on to win the coveted ICC Champions Trophy 2025 .
Now with IPL in sight the Mumbai Indians speedster would be eager to bowl in competitive cricket . However Mumbai Indian head coach Mahela Jayawardene has given massive update on Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness.
On daily basis Jasprit Bumrah is going through his prgramme- Mahela Jayawardene
Ahead of the clash against Gujarat Titans on Saturday, Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene issued an update on premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah and said that he is recovering well but there is no exact date of his return to action in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season.
Jasprit Bumrah is currently undergoing rehab at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (formerly the National Cricket Academy) in Bengaluru for a lower back injury which prevented him from bowling in the second innings of fifth Test against Australia in Sydney. Since then, Jasprit Bumrah has been out of action and even missed India’s triumphant Champions Trophy campaign.
“On a daily basis he’s going through his programme. So far everything seems okay but there were no timelines given by NCA so we’ll wait on that,” Jayawardene said of Bumrah.
The 31-year-old is expected to join the Mumbai squad at some point in April. In his absence, Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar are sharing the load of pace bowling while the franchise also handed a debut to seamer Satyanarayana Raju in the absence of captain Hardik Pandya in their season opener against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians have one of the best support staff mechanisms in the league and they will no doubt go all out to support their star bowler in every which way. One thing that we can be rest assured about is that though there will be the temptation to play him in every match, as and when he rejoins the Mumbai camp, they will not push him to play if there’s even an iota of doubt about his fitness. His future – both for the Mumbai Indians and the Indian team is just too precious.
Jasprit Bumrah is more than just a phenomenal bowling asset for Team India, he is also potentially the next India Test captain. Protecting him, at all costs, should be a priority target.
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