"I am hoping Jasprit Bumrah plays last two Tests against Australia" - Rohit Sharma

Team India captain Rohit Sharma is hoping that ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah will play the last two Test matches against Australia in the upcoming Border–Gavaskar Trophy.

Bumrah has not played any level of competitive cricket since September 2022. The fast bowler's back injury woes have stalled his comeback to international cricket.

Jasprit Bumrah was named in India's ODI squad for the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka earlier this month. On the eve of the first ODI, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that the speedster was ruled out as a precautionary measure.

The Ahmedabad-born player was also excluded from India's squad for the first two Test matches against Australia in Nagpur (February 9 to 13) and Delhi (February 17 to 21).

Addressing in a press conference about Bumrah's availability for the Australia Test series after India's 90-run win over New Zealand in the third ODI, Indian captain Rohit Sharma said:

“Not too sure about Bumrah, I am hoping he plays next (last) two Tests (against Australia), we don’t want to take any risks with him as back injuries are always critical. We have a lot of cricket coming back after that also."

He added:

“We are in constant touch with physios and doctors in NCA. The medical team will give him as much time as he wants."

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Timeline of Jasprit Bumrah's injury

In July 2022, Bumrah missed the series-decider match of ODIs against England in Manchester due to back spasms. The fast bowler was completely rested for the white-ball tour of the West Indies in the July-August period.

Despite being rested against the West Indies, Bumrah was unable to recover from back spasms and was subsequently ruled out of the 2022 Asia Cup in August-September.

At the end of September, Bumrah returned for the home T20Is against Australia and played two matches. Ahead of the South Africa T20Is, Bumrah suffered a stress fracture and thus missed three games before the T20 World Cup.

On October 3, 2022, Jasprit Bumrah was officially ruled out of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup in Australia after detailed discussions with the BCCI's medical team. Since then, the pacer hasn't featured in any international or domestic matches.