Is Jasprit Bumrah going to play in IPL 2023? What is the latest update on the Indian pacer's back injury?

Amid a lengthy injury layoff for Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah, the ace speedster’s future in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) reportedly remains uncertain.

As per Cricbuzz, the 29-year-old is seriously doubtful for the IPL, which is set to begin on March 31.

Bumrah’s absence can affect Mumbai Indians (MI), who finished 10th last season. He picked up 15 wickets in 14 games during the IPL 2022 campaign. So far, he has scalped 145 wickets in 120 games at an economy rate of 7.39. He has been a crucial cog behind MI’s five titles since his IPL debut in 2013.

For the uninitiated, a back injury ruled Bumrah out of the T20 World Cup 2022 before missing out on the three-match T20I series against South Africa.

The pace spearhead also missed the white-ball series against New Zealand (both away and home), Sri Lanka (at home), and the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The right-arm pacer last played for Team India against Australia in the third T20I on September 25.

The report added that Bumrah didn’t clearance from the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for three ODIs against Australia in March. He is even unlikely to be fit for the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June if India qualifies. The team management are keen not to rush him ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup at home.

A final call will be taken by MI ahead of IPL 2023.

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MI squad for IPL 2023 excluding Jasprit Bumrah

Mumbai Indians have bought Australian all-rounder Cameron Green and speedster Jhye Richardson to strengthen their pace attack ahead of IPL 2023. Meanwhile, England pacer Jofra Archer is fit to play after missing out on IPL 2022, subject to a No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the England Cricket Board.

Squad strength - 24 (Overseas 8)

Players bought - Cameron Green (INR 17.5 crore), Jhye Richardson (INR 1.5 crore), Piyush Chawla (INR 50 lakh), Duan Jansen (INR 20 lakh), Vishnu Vinod (INR 20 lakh), Shams Mulani (INR 20 lakh), Mehal Wadhera (INR 20 lakh), Raghav Goyal (INR 20 lakh)

Players retained - Rohit Sharma (captain), Tim David, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Jofra Archer, Arjun Tendulkar, Arshad Khan, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal.