Eleven months is a long time but Jasprit Bumrah has enough games before World Cup to test himself: Glenn McGrath

Ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been out of action for nearly one year now. In this while, the cricketer has missed several crucial matches, including the T20 World Cup 2022, IPL 2023 and the World Test Championship final against Australia. India or his franchise team Mumbai Indians have not found success in his absence and that shows his importance in the middle. 

Keeping that in mind, the BCCI and NCA staff have worked hard along with the cricketer to make him fit ahead of the ODI World Cup, scheduled to be played in India in October-November. The plan was executed well as Bumrah is now fit and will also be leading the Indian team in the upcoming three-match T20I series Ireland series. Meanwhile, speaking about his injury, former Australia cricketer Glenn McGrath stated that Bumrah will be fine when he returns and the layoff will help him. 

“I think he will be fine since he is a quality bowler. The layoff will help him, I think. Fast bowlers need that layoff and time to get the strength back in their bodies. It depends on the work he has done off the field, how his back is and if he has done anything to his action,” McGrath said in a media interaction at the MRF Pace Foundation academy.

However, doubts about whether Bumrah will be equally effective as he was before remain. Speaking on that, McGrath mentioned that 11 months is a long time and thus, it might take some time for him to get back into his groove but the good thing is that he will play a lot of matches before the World Cup at home.

“I will be watching him keenly to see him get back to where he was. The effort and energy he puts in take a toll on the body. If he has put enough work on the field, I can't see a reason why he cannot go back to being where he previously was. He has got enough experience. He has enough games before the World Cup to test himself. Eleven months is a long time out of the game, but if you are coming off an off-season and you want to get into it, hopefully, that only takes a few games,” the 53-year-old added.