'India had cooked its golden goose': Jasprit Bumrah's overlooked MCG moment that sparked workload fears, led to injury

Jasprit Bumrah, who completed the greatest show by an Indian fast bowler in a Test series with a record 32 wickets in the tour of Australia, incurred a heartbreaking end to his campaign in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. The player who single-handedly carried India's hopes throughout the contest amid the fading superstars, the dwindling performance from the batters and the lack of bowling depth in the squad eventually bowed out of the series a day before the end of the decider in Sydney with a back injury. India's captain Jasprit Bumrah (L) reacts after Australia's Steve Smith hit a shot during day two of the fifth cricket Test match between Australia and India at The SCG (AFP)

On Day 2 of the fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Bumrah left the field and was immediately taken to the hospital for a scan. He did not return to the field later, nor did he return to bowl in the final innings, as Australia successfully chased down 162 to claim the trophy for the first time since 2015.

However, according to a report in Fox Sports, the damage was done a week before in Melbourne.

In the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Bumrah, once again, single-handedly rattled the Aussie line-up on Day 4, dismissing Travis Head, Mitch Marsh and Alex Carey in the space of a couple of overs. Hours later, in a video that went viral on social media, India captain Rohit Sharma was seen begging Bumrah to return to action for another over in a bid to remove either Nathan Lyon or Scott Boland. The 31-year-old could then be heard telling Rohit that he has no more strength when urged to bowl another over. He said: "Bas abhi. Nahi lag raha hai zor." [Enough now. I'm not able to push more].

The tailenders eventually survived until stumped with their gritty 61-run stand, where they even lasted the final over against Bumrah.

The report added that after the umpires whisked off the bails on Day 4 of the Boxing Day Test, ten Indian players and the two Aussie batters made their way towards the dressing room, except Bumrah. The India vice-captain was left standing all alone in the middle of the MCG pitch, completely exhausted. He stood hunched over for several seconds, with his hands on his knees, taking big gasps of air.

It was a defining moment, which, although it went overlooked, did spark workload concerns and potentially was what led to the injury in Sydney. "The damage was done, even though it would not become evident for almost another week. India had cooked its golden goose," read the report.

Bumrah, who returned the following morning to pick the final wicket and complete his third five-wicket haul in the series, bowled 53.2 overs in the match, the most he has bowled in a single Test.

BCCI yet to confirm grade of Bumrah's injury

BCCI's medical team has yet to give an official update on the degree of Bumrah's apparent back injury. If Bumrah’s injury is in grade 1 category, then it will take a minimum two to three weeks of rehabilitation before Return to Play (RTP). In case of Grade 2 injury, the recovery can go up to six weeks while Grade 3, the most severe in nature, requires a minimum three months of rest and rehabilitation programmes.

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