'Jasprit Bumrah ko ab bhool jao...': India legend hits final nail in the coffin after star pacer's latest injury setback

Amid all the hoopla surrounding Jasprit Bumrah's fitness and whether he will be available for India's upcoming crunch fixtures, a legendary India all-rounder wants fans to shed their expectations.

Jasprit Bumrah's latest injury setback isn't exactly music to the ears of Indian cricket fans. Bumrah, India's premier pacer, who hasn't played a competitive match since September of last year, is yet to recover from his back injury and is all but ruled out of the IPL 2023 starting end of this month. With reports doing the rounds that Bumrah will now most likely need a surgery to return to top-flight cricket, the 29-year-old is not only set to miss the World Test Championship final taking place in June but also pretty remains a doubtful starter for the World Cup in October. If everything was to be on track as per the initial roadmap, Bumrah should have been back playing by now, but as it turns out, the extent of his injury is more serious that what meets the eye. Trainers at NCA and the BCCI medical staff are constantly monitoring Bumrah's progress but all signs point to an even lengthier delay.

Jasprit Bumrah is now expected to require a surgery to repair his troubled back. (Getty)

Amid all the hoopla surrounding Bumrah's fitness and whether he will be available for India's upcoming crunch fixtures, legendary India all-rounder Madan Lal wants fans to shed their expectations. As per India's 1983 World Cup winner, Bumrah is out for the long run and in his absence, Lal feels Umesh Yadav can be the perfect seamer for India in England provided the team can win the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Ahmedabad and make the WTC final.

"They will take Umesh [to WTC final]. There you need at least 3 pacers to only one spinner might play and the rest will be fast bowlers. Bumrah ko ab bhool jao. Usko chhor dijiye aap (Forget Bumrah. Leave him out of the equation). When Bumrah returns, we will see then. Use whatever you have. What is the guarantee? No wonder when he will return - maybe 1 to 1.5 years. He has not played in so long. It means his injury his very serious," Madan Lal said on Sports Tak.

Ever since, Bumrah's fitness has remained as huge mystery. He was expected to regain fitness after the first two Tests of the BGT but there was no positive news. He was then believed to be fit by IPL, but the possibility of that has taken a hit too. As the Bumrah plot thickens, Lal reckons it could be really long before the world gets to see Bumrah back on the field again and adds that even if he does, there is no guarantee 'Boom' would be as effective as before.

"At max, an injury takes 3 months to heal and he hasn't played since September - even Hardik Pandya was able to return in 4 months post his back surgery - and Bumrah hasn't played since 6 months. So how can you expect that this will be the same Bumrah that we have seen so far. It will take him time. If you want to see the same Bumrah, you will have to give him time," mentioned the former India all-rounder.