Star Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah missed the first T20I against South Africa on September 28 (Wednesday) in Thiruvananthapuram after sustaining a back issue. The right-arm pacer recently made a comeback to the national side during the T20I series against Australia after missing plenty of games, including the Asia Cup 2022, due to a back injury. With Bumrah once again complaining of some discomfort in his back, it has raised concerns for India moving forward, especially with the T20 World Cup less than a month away.
"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," BCCI tweeted after India captain Rohit Sharma announced at the toss that the Indian pacer complained of a niggle. Deepak Chahar was named in the playing XI in place of Bumrah.
"Bumrah had a niggle in the morning so he misses out and Chahal misses out as well. Deepak Chahar and Ashwin are back," Rohit said after winning the toss and opting to bowl.
Soon after Rohit Sharma revealed Bumrah's injury status, social media went on overdrive with fans terming Bumrah as 'King of Injury'.
Earlier, before the game got underway, captain Rohit Sharma announced a few major changes in the playing XI. Rohit replaced rested Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar with Rishabh Pant and Arshdeep Singh. In addition, Jasprit Bumrah was replaced by Deepak Chahar as India’s pace-bowling spearhead complaint of a back issue. Also, Ravichandran Ashwin has been picked in the side in place of Yuzvendra Chahal.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
South Africa Playing XI: Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi