Akhtar's one-year old prediction on Bumrah goes viral after injury news ahead of T20 World Cup

With Jasprit Bumrah being ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2022, Shoaib Akhtar’s prediction from last year has been doing the rounds on social media.
 By CX Staff Writer Updated: Sep 29, 2022, 18:00 IST
Shoaib Akhtar on Jasprit Bumrah?width=963&height=541&resizemode=4
“In one year, he will completely break down”

India’s chances at the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 have taken a major dent, with ace quick Jasprit Bumrah being ruled out of the competition with a back injury. India’s team balance is expected to affect at the marquee event, given Ravindra Jadeja has already been ruled out with knee injury.

As for Bumrah, back problems have been an issue since late 2019, and he was out of action for a considerable period of time of late, before returning for the home T20Is against Australia. Following the injury update, a year-old prediction from Shoaib Akhtar has been doing the rounds on social media.

"His bowling is based on frontal action. Players with that action bowl with their backs and shoulder speed,” Akhtar had said on Sports Tak in July last year. “We used to be side-on, and that is a compensation. Front action has no compensation and with that action, when the back blows out, you can’t escape it irrespective of how much you try.

"I saw [Ian] Bishop’s back blowing out, Shane Bond’s back blowing out, and both had frontal actions. Bumrah now needs to think in this way, ‘I played a match, took an off, and went to rehab’. He needs to manage. If you play him every match, in one year, he will completely break down. Play him three matches out of five and take him out. Bumrah will have to manage this one thing if he wants to last forever."

The former Pakistan quick further elaborated his point by citing his own example from his playing days.

"I kept telling the Pakistan Cricket Board, ‘do not make me play all five matches. I am a three ODI fast bowler and my knees won’t allow it’. When I started my years in 1997, my knees couldn’t take the pressure. Whenever I played five matches, my knees would get filled with water and my movement went away. I got tired of asking them to use me in three matches out of five but unfortunately, I had to manage this myself."
 

From around the web