In a major blow to India, premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia due to a suspected stress fracture on his back. As the news surfaced, people started sharing the video of former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar where he told Sports Tak that Bumrah will “completely break down” because of his “frontal action”.
"His (Bumrah's) bowling is based on frontal action. Players with that action bowl with their backs and shoulder speed. We used to be side-on, and that used to compensate (for the pressure on the back). Front-on action has no compensation and with that action, when the back gives in, you can’t escape it irrespective of how much you try," Akhtar had predicted.
The 47-year-old also used examples of former pacers Ian Bishop and Shane Bond who got injured regularly because of their bowling actions.
"I saw [Ian] Bishop’s struggling with his back, Shane Bond too, and both had frontal actions. Bumrah now needs to think in this way, ‘I played a match, took an off, and go to rehab’. He needs to manage. If you play him every match, in one year, he will completely break down. Play him three matches out of five and take him out. Bumrah will have to manage this one thing if he wants to last forever," the Rawalpindi Express had explained.
Similarly, legendary Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev had predicted that Bumrah will struggle with his fitness because of his unorthodox action.
While Akhtar had predicted that Bumrah will get injured if he continues to play every match, he has played a total of 15 matches including 5 Tests, 5 ODIs and 5 T20Is.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to make an official announcement. As per reports, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami are two options the board is considering to replace Bumrah in the squad. Shami missed the T20I series against Australia and the first T20I after testing positive for Covid-19 whereas Siraj had a successful stint with Warwickshire in County Cricket.
In the previous T20I against South Africa, Deepak Chahar bowled well with the new ball but he is not considered as like-for-like replacement for Bumrah.
