Jasprit Bumrah likley to travel to New Zealand to undergo back surgery - Reports 

Team India pacer Jasprit Bumrah might be headed overseas for the unavoidable surgery to treat his back injury. According to a report by Cricbuzz, the medical team of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the managers of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), have identified a New Zealand surgeon who has worked on notable players like Jofra Archer and James Pattinson in the past.

Rowan Schouten will be the surgeon who will operate on Bumrah in the coming weeks. The Christchurch-based professional is considered one of the best in his field and has worked with Grahame Inglis in the past.

Inglis is revered as a prominent orthopedic surgeon and has operated on several players like Shane Bond, who was a victim of injuries as well and currently serves as the bowling coach of the MI outfit.

Schouten has assisted Inglis in the surgeries of Jason Behrendorff, Ben Dwarshuis and James Pattinson in the recent past.

The report further states that arrangements are being made to send Bumrah to Auckland as soon as possible. It was initially revealed that the right-arm pacer will not be fit in time for the Indian Premier League (IPL), and will skip the tournament as a result.

The recovery time is placed somewhere between 20 and 24 weeks, which suggests that he could miss the World Test Championship (WTC) in England, should India qualify.

The BCCI are currently prioritizing Bumrah for the ODI World Cup in late 2023. He is slated to miss the Asia Cup in September as well, meaning a tight window for him to feature and adapt ahead of the marquee event in the November-December window.

Jasprit Bumrah last played for India in September 2022

The speedster's roadmap to recovery and return from injury has been a complicated one, to say the least. He first showed signs of distress during the ODI series against England, following which he was ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

He returned to the team for the home series against Australia but was subsequently ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2022 as he experienced extreme discomfort while bowling.

The bizarre trend continued as he was a late inclusion for the squad to face Sri Lanka to kickstart the home season, but was withdrawn even before the matches began.

Will Bumrah be fit in time for the ODI World Cup 2023? Let us know what you think.