There's a big twist in the Jasprit Bumrah saga! Turns out, workload management wasn’t the reason he was released before the 5th Test against England.
That was just the perceived cause, but the real reason seems to be something else entirely. According to reports, Bumrah is dealing with a knee injury. The good news? It’s not a serious one and thankfully won’t require surgery.
"Unfortunately, Bumrah is suffering from a knee injury. The good thing is that it's not a major one and won't require surgery. The BCCI medical team is currently awaiting his scan reports," a report in the Times of India quoted a BCCI official as saying.
This means playing the final Test was never on the table. However, this development has opened up a new possibility. The Asia Cup is around the corner, and if the injury truly isn’t severe, there’s a good chance Bumrah could still be part of the squad. Given his stature, playing only the important matches is always an option for him.
"There is an Asia Cup around the corner, the T20 World Cup is also there. He would want to play those events. Considering his body, he can't play every game. He needs to be managed with extra care. Playing him at The Oval would have been a huge risk," a BCCI source told PTI.
And with the T20 World Cup also on the horizon and Bumrah being an essential part of India’s white-ball plans, BCCI sources have indicated that his Test career will now be managed with surgical precision—pun very much intended.
"Going forward, there needs to be a clear plan on how to manage Bumrah's Test career," the source added.
But here comes the bigger question: Is this a glimpse of the future? Are we quietly witnessing the end of Bumrah’s days with the red ball?
If so, it would go down as one of Indian cricket’s biggest what-ifs—a generational fast bowler, capable of magic with the red ball, potentially bowing out of the longest format far too soon.
