Bumrah likely to miss IPL, WTC final

Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is set to miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 after being given the option of undergoing back surgery, reported ESPNCricinfo on Tuesday. He could also possibly miss the ICC World Test Championship (if India qualifies for it), which will be played from June 7 onwards at The Oval. He is yet to recover from the back injury that ruled him out of the ICC T20 World Cup last year. The medical staff of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru is treating Bumrah’s case urgently and suggested him to undergo surgery after facing recurring niggles in his lower back which surfaced originally in form of stress reaction last August. A final decision on the next step is expected to be taken soon by BCCI in coordination with the NCA and Bumrah, keeping in mind the ICC Cricket World Cup, which is set to take place in India from October-November this year. It has been a frustrating wait for Bumrah, who has attempted to make a comeback more than once since suffering a back injury in August which ruled him out of the Asia Cup. Initially, the injury did not seem serious as he was named in India’s T20 World Cup squad in September and even played the last two T20Is against Australia on September 23 and 25. Three days later, Bumrah did not play the first T20I against South Africa and it was learnt that he was taken for scans, which revealed a stress-related injury in his back. He was rushed to NCA and the scans there confirmed that the injury was serious. It ruled him out of the T20 World Cup, in which India achieved a semifinal finish. Bumrah resumed his rehab in November and started to bowl in mid-December. His progress seemed to be positive as he was added in the white-ball series played in January more than a week after the original squad was picked up. Bumrah had performed the match simulation exercises in the NCA, but discomfort resurfaced while taking up higher workloads during fitn