The situation involving Bhuvneshwar Kumar has become quite the talking point in the past couple of days. To recap, after turning up with a stiff back, he was not selected for the third T20I against England and missed the first two ODIs subsequently. He was then seen practicing full tilt at the nets during an optional session, the day before the deciding ODI, giving rise to suggestions that he would be available for the game.
At the toss of the third ODI, captain Virat Kohli indeed confirmed that he was fit and is getting a go, along with Shardul Thakur, to give the duo “game time.” A day after the match, then, it emerged that Kumar had “aggravated” the back issue and was left out of the squad for the first three Tests.
And now, according to a report on ESPNCricinfo, he will “undergo intense rehabilitation for about four weeks at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru,” which effectively rules him out until the selectors get back to decide the squad for the final two Tests.
The situation is a mess.
Finger-pointing
In the meantime, like most things about BCCI these days, an unnamed “senior official” has lit a fire of sorts, by questioning the team’s support staff. The pacer has been suffering from a back issue since the start of IPL 2018, and he missed a chunk of games for eventual runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad. And now, this official, privy to team selection was “surprised” as to why he was played in the third ODI if he wasn’t fully fit. “Please go and ask Ravi Shastri that question,” came the reply, according to news agency PTI.
“The moment we are saying he has aggravated his injury, we are conceding that he wasn’t fully fit. So if he is a vital cog in our Test match scheme of things, why was he risked for an ODI,” the report added.
“If you look at IPL, Bhuvi missed five out of 17 games for Sunrisers. The BCCI had asked the franchise to look after his workload management. Then he was rested for Afghanistan Test so that he gets time to recover for UK tour. But it seems something is amiss and that’s quite baffling.”
One has to take quotes from BCCI (or COA?) officials these days with a pinch of salt, given the mess they themselves find in with internal squabbling. But there is a good argument to be made that the team management should have played it safe with their premier bowler (especially in English conditions, where he was India’s best performer by far in 2014).
As per reports, Kumar was indeed made to undergo a fitness test ahead of the third ODI and cleared to play, and Kohli and Ravi Shastri would have, you’d think, been given an assurance that he was 100% good to go because otherwise it’s just too much of a risk. And injuries do recur, especially with fast bowlers. The number of instances in the past when a quick has seen his career troubled by back issues are aplenty – Dennis Lilee, Bruce Reid, Ian Bishop, Imran Khan, Shane Bond to name a few. The team management has always been well aware of the workload management of Kumar, and it’s unthinkable that they would risk him in the XI if he wasn’t cleared completely by the physios.
Which brings us to the contentious “game time” reasoning given by Kohli. With India’s tours to England, one knows all too well the risk of starting a Test match with a fast bowler not fully fit. (Hint: Zaheer Khan). So, the thinking could have been to see if Kumar can, first, bowl 10 overs in an ODI and then perhaps step it up a bit during the four-day practice game, before assessing his fitness for the first Test. Because, the last thing India need is to go into the Test match with doubts over their main bowler’s ability to last the game.
Rest and recovery
Either which way, the scenario Indian cricket finds itself in right now is far from ideal, but such is the nature of the sport. Injuries happen, even after every precaution is taken, every protocol followed. Instead of questioning where it all went wrong and assigning blame, pointing fingers, the need of the hour is to ensure the best treatment for Kumar.
A serious back problem can, at worst, ruin the career of a fast bowler and, at best, prevent him from reaching the highs from before the injury. An immediate assessment of how serious the issue is essential, before his recovery is charted out.
You would think that is a given, considering the strides India have made in terms of player fitness, and the facilities available but if what happened to Wriddhiman Saha is anything to go by, it’s far from guaranteed.
For Kumar’s sake, all the focus should now be on getting to the bottom of the problem, getting him fully fit for the end of the Test series. He is far too important an asset for India in all formats of the game and with the World Cup coming up on the horizon for this Indian juggernaut, another “bungling” cannot be afforded.
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