“Not sure you can have surgery on that spot again” - Former New Zealand pacer warns India over potential threat of overburdening Jasprit Bumrah

Former New Zealand pacer Shane Bond has warned Team India's management to carefully assess Jasprit Bumrah's workload moving forward, claiming that another back surgery could threaten his career. With a five-Test series against England looming, Bond believes the right-arm pacer shouldn't be playing in more than two or three in a row.

Bumrah's back injury resurfaced during the Australia tour as he didn't bowl in the second innings of the final Test and went off the field for scans due to his back injury. Subsequently, the 31-year-old was also ruled out of the Champions Trophy as the selectors didn't want to risk him, keeping in mind the crucial assignments ahead.

Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo during the Champions Trophy, Bond, who has worked with Bumrah in Mumbai Indians, said he is too valuable and that the management needs to get enough confidence to play the ace fast bowler across formats. He elaborated:

"He's too valuable for the next World Cup and stuff. So you'd be looking at five Tests in England, I wouldn't want to be playing him in any more than two in a row. They may say, look, it's four Test matches in total. Or three."

"If we can get him through the English summer and he's fit, we can probably then go with some confidence that we can carry him across the rest of the formats. So that's hard because he is your best bowler, but 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."

The Ahmedabad-born speedster delivered a warrior-like performance during the five-Test series Down Under. In five Tests, he snared 32 wickets at 13.06 in nine innings with three fifers. Although experts had doubts about India's ability to win the Champions Trophy without Bumrah, the Men in Blue did it with ease.

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"I thought he may struggle to make the Champions Trophy" - Shane Bond recalls Jasprit Bumrah's injury in Sydney

Shane Bond. (Image Credits: Getty)

Bond recalled Bumrah going off during the Sydney Test and remembered feeling that it wasn't just a sprain, as some people indicated it to be. The 49-year-old added:

"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."

The star bowler is likely to make a comeback during IPL 2025 for the Mumbai Indians.