Jasprit Bumrah's back in fragile state, VVS Laxman to monitor progress: Report

Jasprit Bumrah's availability for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 hangs in the balance. The BCCI is reluctant to rush him back into action, but after Rohit Sharma's recent statement stating that the decision to include or not to include players will solely depend on the franchises, the mystery has further deepened.

However, it is understood that Bumrah is in a fragile state and the extent of his injury is known to National Cricket Academy (NCA) head VVS Laxman and just a handful of people within the BCCI.

"Not many in the BCCI are aware of his injury. Only VVS Laxman [NCA director] has been assigned to speak to him and the physios. Even the selection committee has been told that they will be informed about Bumrah's actual injury and his rehab details in due course," a source told Indian Express.

Bumrah's back injury has worsened ever since he was rushed back into action ahead of the Asia Cup last year for a bilateral series against Australia. With Rishabh Pant out for a considerable amount of time and Shreyas Iyer too likely to miss a few months of action, all eyes have turned to NCA, who have the final say in declaring if a player is fit to compete or not.

"His back is in a fragile state right now. Besides, last time Bumrah's return was hastened. Since he hadn't fully recovered, he had discomfort while bowling on his return. This time, we are more conservative as a wrong call might even result in a career-threatening injury," the source added.

Following the IPL, India will travel to England to play the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia in June. India will then travel to West Indies where they will kickstart the next cycle of WTC before playing the Asia Cup and then an ODI series at home against Sri Lanka before taking part in the 50-over World Cup. Bumrah's participation in any of these events hangs in the balance.