T20 World Cup 2022: Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of the tournament due to stress fracture in the back - Reports

Team India pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah will reportedly not feature in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 due to a stress fracture in his lower back. The right-arm pacer did not feature in the Men in Blue's eight-wicket win over South Africa in the first T20I on Wednesday (September 28).

During the toss, skipper Rohit Sharma dismissed Jasprit Bumrah's absence down to a back niggle in Thiruvananthapuram but the issue is apparently much more serious. The ace bowler could reportedly be out of action for up to four to six months despite surgery not being required to treat the injury.

Breaking News: Jasprit Bumrah is out of World T20 with a serious back stress fracture injury. No surgery reqd but out for 4-6 months as per sources. He didn't travel with team to Trivandrum.
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According to journalist Kushan Sarkar, the pacer is not among the squad at the moment and is unlikely to feature in the World Cup as well. He tweeted:

"Breaking News: Jasprit Bumrah is out of World T20 with a serious back stress fracture injury. No surgery reqd but out for 4-6 months as per sources. He didn't travel with the team to Trivandrum."

Jasprit Bumrah was initially injured in the second ODI during the tour of England. He was replaced by Mohammed Siraj in the series decider in Manchester. The pacer was subsequently rested from tours of the Caribbean and Zimbabwe before being ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022.

The Gujarat-born bowler was named in the squad for the three-match T20I series against Australia, where he played the second and third contests. After bowling six overs across two matches, Bumrah was not part of the playing XI for the series opener against South Africa after complaining of back pain.

Bumrah was slated to spearhead the bowling attack at the T20 World Cup 2022

The pacer's injury will be a huge blow to the team. who are already struggling with issues surrounding their bowling, especially in the death overs.

With Bumrah effectively ruled out of the tournament, either Mohammed Shami or Deepak Chahar could be promoted to the main squad as they have been named on the standby list.

🚨 UPDATE 🚨

Jasprit Bumrah complained of back pain during India's practice session on Tuesday. The BCCI Medical Team assessed him. He is ruled out of the first #INDvSA T20I.

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Shami is yet to feature in a T20I match since last year's T20 World Cup and only recently recovered from COVID-19. Chahar also comes into the squad after an injury layoff which caused him to miss the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

However, the right-arm pacer was in good rhythm in the ODI series against Zimbabwe as well as the first T20I against South Africa.

How much will the ace bowler's absence at the World Cup hurt India's chances? Let us know what you think.