Mohammed Siraj replaces Bumrah for remainder of T20I series vs South Africa

Mohammed Siraj has replaced Jasprit Bumrah for remainder of T20I series against South Africa, BCCI announced on Friday. 

Bumrah sustained a back injury during training on Tuesday and didn’t travel with the team to Thiruvananthapuram for the series-opener against South Africa. He has reportedly travelled to Bengaluru to undergo fresh scans on his back. The 28-year-old is under the supervision of the BCCI Medical Team, BCCI said. 

Bumrah may also be ruled out of the ICC T20 World Cup which begins on October 16 in Australia.

“Bumrah is not going to play the World T20 for sure. He has a serious back condition. It’s a stress fracture and he could be out for a period of six months,” an anonymous BCCI official told PTI on Thursday.

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It is understood that either Deepak Chahar or Mohammed Shami, who are the stand-by players for the tournament, could replace Bumrah in the main squad. 

Bumrah had missed the Asia Cup earlier this year where India were knocked out after losing to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Super Fours. 

Ravindra Jadeja, who is recovering from a knee surgery, has also been ruled out of the T20 World Cup. 

“Losing Bumrah and Jadeja will be huge for India. We didn’t expect that things will pan out as they have. He was rested for the Asia Cup precisely to manage his workload management. Now it remains a question if he was even fit enough to play the Australia series,” the senior official told PTI.

Bumrah has played only five Tests, five ODIs and as many T20Is in 2022 apart from IPL games for Mumbai Indians.  

“That’s not a lot of cricket, considering that he was rested for Asia Cup, West Indies tour and also some of the bilateral cricket played in India. That’s a lot of rest. As of now he is at the NCA and the rehab will be a long and arduous one. Yes, World T20 is important but he is still young and India’s biggest bowling asset. You can’t take risk with him,” the official told PTI.