In the midst of a long layoff due to injury to Indian pacemaker Jasprit Bumrah, the future of the ace sprinter in the next edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) remains uncertain.
According to Cricbuzz, the 29-year-old has serious doubts for the IPL, which is due to start on March 31.
Bumrah’s absence may affect Mumbai Indians (MI), who finished 10th last season. He picked up 15 wickets in 14 games during the IPL 2022 campaign. So far, he has busted 145 wickets in 120 games at an economic rate of 7.39. He has been a crucial cog behind all five of MI’s titles since his IPL debut in 2013.
For the uninitiated, a back injury ruled Bumrah out of the 2022 T20 World Cup before he missed the three-game T20I series against South Africa.
The pace spearhead also missed the white ball series against New Zealand (both away and home), Sri Lanka (home) and the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The right-arm pacer last played for the India team against Australia in the third T20I on September 25.
The report added that Bumrah did not receive clearance from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for three ODIs against Australia in March. It is even unlikely that he will be fit for the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June if India qualifies. The team management wishes not to rush him ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup at home.
MI will take a final call before IPL 2023.
MI squad for IPL 2023 excluding Jasprit Bumrah
Mumbai Indians have bought Australian all-rounder Cameron Green and speedster Jhye Richardson to bolster their attacking pace ahead of IPL 2023. Meanwhile, England pacemaker Jofra Archer is set to play after missing IPL 2022, subject to a No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the Cricket Council of England.
According to sources, Jasprit Bumrah might be ruled out of IPL 2023! If this news turns out to be true, it will be a huge blow to the Mumbai Indians just before IPL! The wait to see Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer play together could continue. !#IPL2023#TATAIPL #JaspritBumrah https://t.co/sY5rxb0jHX
squad strength – 24 (8 abroad)
bought players – Cameron Green (INR 17.5 crore), Jhye Richardson (INR 1.5 crore), Piyush Chawla (INR 50 lakh), Duan Jansen (INR 20 lakh), Vishnu Vinod (INR 20 lakh), Shams Mulani (INR 20 lakh), Mehal Wadhera (INR 20 lakh), Raghav Goyal (INR 20 lakh)
retained players – Rohit Sharma (captain), Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Jofra Archer, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshad Khan, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal.