India held their first training session on Tuesday following their 10-wicket defeat against Australia in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. As the team prepared to depart for Brisbane, the venue for the crucial third Test, concerns arose over the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj from the practice session at the Adelaide Oval nets.
While other Indian pacers, including Harshit Rana, who faced criticism for conceding 86 runs without taking a wicket in the second Test, bowled vigorously in the nets to players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli, the sight of Bumrah and Siraj missing from action raised questions.
According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, both bowlers skipped training, which some speculated was part of workload management. However, Bumrah’s presence on the sidelines, working with India’s strength and conditioning coach, caused significant concern.
During the 81st over of Australia’s first innings, Bumrah was seen clutching his inner thigh in visible discomfort, prompting immediate medical attention. While he quickly resumed bowling, India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel dismissed the incident as minor cramps. Yet, his decreased bowling speeds in the second innings fueled worries about his fitness ahead of the Gabba Test.
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Former Australian cricketer Damien Fleming, speaking on SEN Radio, expressed “serious doubts” about Bumrah’s availability and criticized India captain Rohit Sharma for overusing the bowler during the second innings, where Australia chased a target of just 19 runs.
“There’s got to be serious doubts. Siraj might be workload [related], but I’m puzzled Bumrah was made to bowl that over. They could have hidden this issue, but instead, they showed their hand. There’s no way that’s cramp. He looked very ginger after the break in the first innings. And why even bowl him in that scenario? That just gave away secrets to everyone,” Fleming remarked.
With Mohammed Shami already unavailable, Bumrah’s potential absence at Gabba would be a significant blow for India. In such a scenario, Akash Deep could come in as a replacement, leaving Siraj to lead the attack, just as he did during India’s historic victory at the venue four years ago.
