Hope Floats For Bumrah, India As World Cup Nears

Hope swells with every social media intrusion into Jasprit Bumrah's life, the last being a bird's eye view of the man sprinting to the crease at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.

- Somshuvra Laha

KOLKATA: It didn't offer a peek into his match fitness, nor could it be considered a milestone in his long rehab from an almost debilitating lower back injury.

Tuesday's affirmation from Bumrah - through a collage of photos of his training with Skylar Grey's "Coming Home" playing in the background - may well be a reason for cheer but probably not go overboard. For no one can tell for sure whether Bumrah will play Ireland in August till he actually does. Or whether he will be match-fit for the ODI World Cup at home. Of wider consequence is the question whether Bumrah will ever play all formats again.

The pertinence of that last question at a time India are desperate to win an ICC event is bound to be challenged.

But let's not forget that most of the greatest hits of Bumrah 6/33 in Melbourne (2018), 5/7 in Antigua (2019), 5/42 in Cape Town (2022), 4/56 again in Melbourne (2020), or that nine-wicket match haul in Nottingham (2021) - were delivered in red-ball cricket.

It's been a year since his last Test, one where he led India with distinction, dismissing Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope in consecutive overs before England ran away with the game. Player of that series with 23 wickets, with "a lot of great learnings, an honour to lead the team and a great experience for me", Bumrah looked every bit an astute captain in the making.