Former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond, who mentored Jasprit Bumrah as Mumbai Indians’ bowling coach in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to strategically manage Bumrah’s workload to safeguard his career. Bond, whose own career was derailed by recurring back injuries, warned that another injury to Bumrah’s surgically repaired back “could be a career-ender.”
Jasprit Bumrah has been sidelined since injuring his back during the fifth India-Australia Test in Sydney earlier this year. Though initially named in India’s Champions Trophy 2025 squad, he was replaced by Harshit Rana due to a lower back stress reaction. The star pacer is currently rehabilitating at the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, with no confirmed timeline for his return.
Shane Bond’s Concerns Over Jasprit Bumrah’s Injury
Bond expressed skepticism about the initial diagnosis of Bumrah’s injury, stating, “When he went off for scans, it was at Sydney; there was some messaging coming up around that he had sprains and stuff like that. I worried that it wasn’t going to be a sprain; it might be a bony injury around that area (the back). I thought he may struggle to make the Champions Trophy if it was,” as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
The former Kiwi speedster emphasized that transitions between formats and tournaments, such as moving from the IPL to Test cricket, pose significant risks. “Looking at the tours and the schedule going forward, where are the opportunities to give him a break? Often it is that the (transition from) IPL to the Test Championship will be a risk,” Bond added.
ALSO READ | Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli Slam Kuldeep Yadav for Big Mistake
Bond’s Recommendations for Workload Management
Drawing from his own injury-plagued career, Bond advised the BCCI to limit Bumrah’s involvement in consecutive Test matches. Highlighting the upcoming five-Test series in England, he cautioned, “I wouldn’t want to be playing him in any more than two in a row. Coming out of the back end of the IPL into a Test match is going to be a huge risk. How they manage that is going to be key.”
Bond stressed that Bumrah’s long-term fitness is critical for India’s World Cup ambitions, adding, “He’s too valuable for the next World Cup and stuff… If he has another injury in the same spot, that could be a career-ender, potentially, because I’m not sure you can have surgery on that spot again.”
