Ace India seamer Jasprit Bumrah has endured enough injuries and pain in his glorious career; as things stand, he is preparing to return to competitive cricket after suffering a back spasm during the BGT Down Under in January 2025. Shane Bond, the former New Zealand pacer who worked with Bumrah at Mumbai Indians in the IPL, reflected on his back issue, saying India over bowled him against Australia, and should they not learn from past mistakes, Bumrah’s career is the price they will pay for it.

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Back issues have troubled Bumrah since he emerged (on the cricket scene), cutting on his regular appearances for Team India across formats. Bumrah’s risky action, coupled with his excessive workload, has kept him away from on-field cricket for a prolonged period, so much so that when he suffered the same injury back in 2023, he missed a major chunk of the year recovering from it and another quarter to get back to bowling full throttles.

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Although India won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in his absence, they’d need him for the away England Tests later this year; however, Bond sent warning signs for the skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir to utilise his services properly to avoid him suffering a stress fracture in his back, which is on the borderline.

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“I don't think so,” Bond said on whether Bumrah should change his bowling action to preserve his career. 

“He had the [2023] surgery, but he played all that [Australia] Test series, performed unbelievably. At the end of the day, he just bowled too much over a one-month period. And it hasn't cracked, he hasn't got a fracture, he is on the borderline of a fracture,” Bond said in a chat with ESPNcricinfo. 

“But what India would have learned is, if you then look at a five-Test match series in England and they do the same thing, they are probably going to get the same result. So you can't do that. You need a squad of bowlers where you can sort of pick and choose. Because if you lose him, you have got T20 World Cups, you've got 50-overs World Cups, and he's an important member across all formats, IPL, all that sort of stuff,” Bond continued.

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Too many overs broke Bumrah’s back

Bumrah captained India in two Tests on its last tour Down Under, winning one (in Perth) and leaving the field midway in his second (at the final Test in Sydney). Though he was the standout bowler, picking 32 wickets from five Tests – the most by an Indian bowler on Australian soil, Bumrah paid the price for sending down a sheer volume of overs (151.2) that eventually broke his back.

"In Australia, it was just the sheer volume of overs that got him in the end - in those five Test matches, his performance was ridiculous, and they leaned on him a lot, and I think he might've bowled 50 overs in a Test match. You are not going to avoid an injury, you are just trying to avoid the really bad ones, and I'm hoping Bumrah can avoid another one of these," Bond said.

Meanwhile, Bumrah would re-link with the Mumbai Indians squad sometime in IPL 2025. 

(With inputs from agencies)