“When Bumrah says anything, we have to be very cautious about it” - Rohit Sharma clears the air on pacer’s injury status

Team India captain Rohit Sharma has revealed that Jasprit Bumrah pulled out of the ODI series against Sri Lanka after he complained of stiffness in his back in the last two days.

Rohit assured that it’s not a major injury scare. He, however, explained that they cannot take any risks with Bumrah, as he has only recently recovered from a major back injury, which forced him to miss the T20 World Cup.

Bumrah was initially not included in the squad for the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. He was later added to the team. However, on Monday (January 9), a BCCI release said that the fast bowler had been ruled out as a precautionary measure.

The India-Sri Lanka one-day series will begin with the first ODI at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday (January 10). At a press conference ahead of the series, Rohit issued a clarification on Bumrah’s injury status. He said:

“Very unfortunate incident with him. Poor guy has been working really hard at the NCA all this time. Just when he got back, he had full fitness, he started bowling and everything. Last two days, he felt a little bit of stiffness in his back. It is nothing major, and when Bumrah says anything, we have to be very cautious about it, and that is what we did."

Elaborating on the decision, the Indian captain added:

“I thought it was important for us to make that decision to pull him out because when we named him, he was in the process of getting his workload done, he was bowling in the nets. We need to be very careful with him. He had a major injury before the World Cup, so we have to be careful.”

Bumrah last played for Team India during a T20I against Australia in Hyderabad on September 25, 2022.

---

“It’s a good opportunity to play nine home games” - Rohit Sharma on World Cup preparations

With the ODI World Cup to be held in India later in the year, the Men in Blue are focused on preparing for the ICC event. After the Sri Lanka series, India will play three home ODIs apiece against New Zealand and Australia.

Sharing his thoughts on Team India’s build-up to the World Cup, Rohit said:

“It’s a good opportunity to play nine home games. We can try out quite a few things keeping the World Cup in mind. We want to give players stability. Making changes after one-two games makes things difficult for players. We don’t want that fear of getting dropped after a couple of poor performances to come into players.”

The 2023 ODI World Cup is scheduled to be held in India in October-November.