Explained – Why India should look beyond Jasprit Bumrah for 2023 World Cup

2023 is a 50-over World Cup year, and India – the best team in world cricket for some time now, will host the mega event for the second time – the first time since 2011, when MS Dhoni led his side to victory. What led the Men in Blue to lift the trophy after 28 years? Team performance. Batters, bowlers, fielders – everyone putting ahead their team spiritand delivering on the biggest stage.

Twelve years later, Rohit Sharma’s Indian team has the same aim to accomplish, but going by the recent records, especially in the ICC tournaments since 2013 – it is clear that India, despite starting as favourites for the nth time, still has many flaws to iron out.

So, what’s that one area the team management, the captain, and even fans are worried about? Batting? No, India has enough masterclass. The lower-order? Again no - thanks to the rise of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja as batters, the Indian team has checked that box too. So, that leaves the Indian team with the bowling department.

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Yes, you guessed it right! It is where the Indian team is vulnerable. Plus, the absence of ace seamer Jasprit Bumrah makes it worse.

So, what’s this curious case of Jasprit Bumrah and his injuries?

The premier seamer is out of action since September last year. After playing against Australia in the home T20Is – just ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia, Bumrah injured his back, and much to everyone’s disappointment in the dressing room, and outside of it too, he got ruled out for an indefinite period.

Earlier, he also missed the 2022 Asia Cup in Dubai, and ironically, India failed to win both tournaments. More so, during the T20 World Cup, in the semis against England, India lost the match by 10 wickets.

Following that, India toured Bangladesh, and hosted Sri Lankaand New Zealand for short white-ball series, before playing Australia in the home 2023 Border-Gavaskar series; and in all of those series, Bumrah was out of contention for selection. His injury also caused him to miss the 2023 IPL for Mumbai Indians.

As things stand, Bumrah underwent back surgery in New Zealand and is currently completing his rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Considering his sensitive back issue, neither the staff at NCA, the board nor the team management will rush him into playing competitive cricket.

It leaves us with the thought:would Bumrah be able to make it in time for the 50-over World Cup?

In the best-case scenario, he probably will; however, in the worst case, he just won’t, and if he doesn’t, how is the Indian team going to fare without him?

In all practicality, the Indian team must start chalking out players and plans, as a contingency measure, if an untimely injury rules Bumrah out of the 2023 World Cup.

To begin with, what are the options? The new ball bowlers aren’t there in abundance, and even if there are a few, some are nursing injuries, or some are out of form.

Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are two outright seamers India will go ahead with in the 2023 World Cup. Arshdeep Singh, the young left-arm seamer, who collected praises for his superb show in the T20 World Cup last year, could also get a nod, while the management might look into injury-hit Deepak Chahar as well.

In another scenario, if somehow experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar remains fit and finds form to push his case for selection, he wouldn’t be a bad option either.

Meanwhile, as the third seamer, Kashmir-express Umran Malik is the front-runner to bag that spot. The others who could also fight for that particular place in the team are Prasidh Krishna, who is also out due to an injury, Avesh Khan, someone who has impressed with his wicket-taking ability and not to forget the bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur. With so many options under their belt, the team management mustn’t find it hard to pick the best bowling unit for the World Cup, barring Jasprit Bumrah.

Although none can match Bumrah’s level or what he brings to the table – especially his ability to bowl Yorkers consistently, add some lovely in-swingers to that; trying to groom someone else to do at least half of what he does might benefit India in the longer run.

While the BCCI, the captain, the coach and everyone going to keep a keen eye on Bumrah’s health status, somewhere at the back of their minds, the thought of having their worst fears come true could prove troublesome.

For India to script history this time and bring the trophy home, they will want to put the best foot forward in each department and further hope that the tentative players slated for the World Cup are far away from any injury, especially Jasprit Bumrah.