‘We’ll be hopeful unless we get an official confirmation’ - Dravid on Bumrah’s fitness

India head coach Rahul Dravid is hopeful that Jasprit Bumrah could recover in time from back injury, and travel to Australia for the T20 World Cup 2022, beginning October 16.
 By CX Staff Writer Oct 1, 2022, 18:44 IST
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“I rely on the experts to tell me what is happening.”

With the T20 World Cup 2022 a little over two months away, India are currently sweating over the availability of Jasprit Bumrah, with the premier speedster being ruled out of the ongoing home T20I series against South Africa with back injury.

Bumrah had been out of action since the completion of India’s tour of England in July, before returning during the home series against Australia recently, wherein he returned 1/23 (two overs) and 0/50 in the two outings he played in.

While there have been reports surfacing that Bumrah is set to miss the T20 World Cup, head coach Rahul Dravid prefers waiting for an official confirmation, and be hopeful till then.

"So as of now, (Bumrah) officially has been ruled out, as you know, from this series against South Africa,” Dravid said in the press conference on Saturday, October 1. “He has gone to the NCA. And we are waiting for the official confirmation on the next steps. So, as of now, officially, he is only out of this series, but we'll see what happens over the next few days. And once we get some official confirmation, then we'll be able to share that.

"I honestly haven't gone deeply into the medical reports. I rely on the experts to tell me what is happening. He is being assessed. And we'll know in due course, whether he's what happens in the future. And obviously, till he is completely ruled out till I get official confirmation that he is ruled out, we will always be hopeful. We will always hope for the best not just for us as a team, but also just as individuals, we will always hope for the best for the remainder of the matches.”

India’s combination has already taken a significant dent, with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja already being ruled out of the marquee event with knee injury. The death bowling too, remains to be a concern, more so with the uncertainty over Bumrah’s availability now.

Dravid however, is confident of the resources India possess currently.

“We’ve been very clear about the players and the kind of combinations we want that we’re likely to play in the XI,” Dravid said. “We can’t really pick an XI months in advance as we don’t know what the wickets would be like. We’ve been very clear on the kind of skills we want in the 15, for me that is really important.

“Not everything would be perfect, there could be injuries and many other factors. But as of now, we’re quite comfortable that we’ve got all the skills that allow us to play different combinations and different kinds of XIs, based on different wickets and oppositions we get in Australia. Most of the players in the 15 have played a decent amount of cricket in recent times.”

The second T20I between India and South Africa will be played in Guwahati on Sunday, October 2. India, having won the series opener in Thiruvananthapuram by eight wickets, lead the three-match series 1-0.

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