Injured Jasprit Bumrah targets IPL 2023 for return amid pending clearance from NCA

Ace Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah was not picked for the final two Tests against Australia and for the ODI series that follows as he remains on the sidelines following the back injury he suffered last year in September. However, as first reported by Cricbuzz, Bumrah is on the road to recovery and is targeting IPL 2023 for his much-awaited return. The fast bowler, who was not named in India’s squad for the first two Tests against Australia earlier as the coach and the captain didn’t want to risk him, is yet to receive clearance from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) where he currently undergoingrehab.

As per the report, Bumrah did play some practice matches in NCA in the past ten days but is yet to receive an all-clear certificate from the top brass so as to be considered for selection.

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As 2023happens to be an important year for Indian cricket in terms of ICC tournamentswith the 2023 World Test Championship and the Men’s World Cup scheduled for the latter half of the year, Bumrah’s fitness will play a key role in deciding how India will fare in those mega events.

In his absence in last year’s Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup in Australia, India failed to lift those trophies. As a result, as announced by the board earlier, Bumrah’s workload in IPL alongside the workload management of several others, who remain in contention for selection for the World Cup, will be taken care of by the NCA in coordination with their IPL franchises during the upcoming season that begins on March 31st.

Even in the past, there have been several instances where the overseas boards have issued conditional NOCs asking the franchises not to make a bowler bowl more than 24 balls in the nets or not to make him play a certain number of matches on a stretch just to avoid an injury. Other than this, the foreign boards also request the respective franchise to look after the concerned player’s fitness parameters regularly. For Bumrah, and even for other injury-prone players, a similar method could be deployed during IPL 2023.

Meanwhile, Bumrah’s Mumbai Indians will face the old nemesis Royal Challengers Bangalore in their opening match of IPL 2023 on April 2nd.