Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who is making his road back to recovery after a stress fracture of the back, and showed a positive signs when he bowled in the Indian nets during the second match against West Indies earlier this week.
However, a recent report says that he will not be able to undergo the mandatory fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for a number of reasons.
According to The Times of India, Bumrah had conveyed to the team management that he was “not keen” on going to the NCA. The Rahul Dravid-led NCA is also reportedly unsure of conducting the fitness test because the pacer was consulting his own set of specialists in India and the United Kingdom on the way to recovery and was not at the centre in Bangalore.
Since the team at the NCA is unaware of the injury, they do not want to conduct the test and certify his fitness, according to the newspaper. The plan was to ask Indian team trainer Nick Webb to conduct the test for Bumrah but Dravid has reportedly cancelled that.
But there is a deeper issue at play here, which stems from the fact that Bumrah was supposedly hesitant to undergo his rehab at the NCA.
For the past few years NCA, which was supposed to help ensure the supply line of Indian cricket, has become little more than a rehabilitation centre, a failing that was even acknowledged by Ganguly after he took over.
However, there have been a few recent cases of Indian cricketers’ rehabs going wrong at the NCA. Prominent among them have been wicketkeeper Wridhiman Saha and more recently, pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Bumrah is expected to be available for the New Zealand tour next year, but only after he passes the fitness test.
