"It probably got worse" - Wasim Jaffer opines Jasprit Bumrah was already carrying injury while facing Australia

Former Indian batter Wasim Jaffer opened up on Jasprit Bumrah's chances of missing the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. Jaffer opined that the right-arm bowler might have already had a stress fracture on his back and it was aggravated after playing the final two T20s against Australia.

Bumrah, who is likely to miss the T20 World Cup, reportedly suffered a stress fracture on his back ahead of the first T20 against South Africa on Wednesday (September 28). The pacer returned in the recently-concluded T20 series against Australia after a two-month injury layoff, prompting him to miss the 2022 Asia Cup.

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Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Jaffer felt the injury might have worsened as the team management may have rushed Bumrah into returning to international cricket. He said:

"The stress fracture might have been there already; not to that extent, but it probably got worse after him playing a couple of games under that pressure. They kind of jumped the gun too early or made him play those games a little early."

The ace pacer delivered an impactful performance in the second T20I against Australia in Nagpur, dismissing Aaron Finch with a searing yorker. However, he conceded 50 runs in four overs in the next game in Hyderabad for the first time in a T20I.

"He might have taken a bit more time and probably got ready for the World Cup" - Wasim Jaffer on Jasprit Bumrah

Jaffer felt Bumrah shouldn't have played the T20 matches against Australia so that he could have played the World Cup Down Under. The 44-year-old added:

"I just feel that probably in hindsight, I would say whether they have rushed him into playing against Australia, if at all I can say that. He might have taken a bit more time and probably got ready for the World Cup. I don't know the seriousness of the injury but that's what I feel, whether they kind of pushed him too early to play and then obviously, it reoccurred."

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Right-arm seamer Mohammed Siraj could replace Bumrah if his countryman misses the showpiece event. India's 15-man squad initially had three frontline pacers in Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar other than Bumrah.