Bumrah likely to miss T20 WC

India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the ongoing T20 series against South Africa and is likely to miss the upcoming T20 World Cup too. 

He is set to report to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. The selectors will be naming a replacement, which is likely to be Mohammed Siraj, reports Cricbuzz.

Sources within the Indian team management and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have revealed that chances of the India spearhead's recovery by the first game in the World Cup are remote but hope is not being given up. A recurring back problem is the cause of his latest injury.

Having come back from a two-month injury lay-off, Bumrah played a couple of T20Is against Australia before breaking down again. The physios and the medical staff of the Indian team have informed the BCCI that he cannot be considered for the remaining two matches of the South Africa series and asked him to report to the NCA.

As per the practice, the NCA staff start the investigation afresh, and here lies the hope of the team management if the detected injury is so serious that he can be out for more than six weeks. Normally a back injury of that nature needs a minimum four weeks to heal and India's first game in the World Cup - against Pakistan at the MCG on October 23 - is just about three weeks away.

Considering the short time gap, and the history of such injuries, it may not be inappropriate to rule him out of the World Cup. But at this stage, neither the BCCI nor the team management has conclusively been told that the pacer will not be available for the World Cup. Bumrah will report to the NCA on Friday when his treatment will start.

Bumrah had already missed Asia Cup in UAE owing to the back spasms he has constantly had to deal with recently, which prompted the board to ensure the injury doesn't aggravate just before the World Cup. Bumrah rested and rehabilitated at the NCA in Bengaluru before returning to the side for the Australia series. Rohit Sharma admitted during the first fixture that his star pacer was being slowly eased back in as he didn't feature in that game. He played the next two - on September 23 and 25 - but missed the first fixture against South Africa - on September 28 - after complaining of back pain on the eve of the game.

Bumrah has had to deal with a stress fracture to the back before - in 2019, right after the tour of West Indies where he rattled the home team with 13 wickets in two fixtures. He endured a lengthy layoff due to the injury, missing home series against South Africa and Bangladesh.

The national selectors are yet to meet to name a replacement for Bumrah but Cricbuzz understands that Siraj, who has had the experience of bowling in big matches, is likely to be considered for the South Africa series. As for the World Cup, the selectors have already named Mohammed Shami in the standbys and in all probability, he will come in.

Shami has missed the Australia and South Africa T20Is due to Covid. But the veteran pacer has tested negative and is available for selection. As previously reported by this website, the standbys will fly to Australia and will be made readily available for the team. However, their travel may be slightly delayed because of the three ODIs against South Africa, which will end on October 11.