Srinagar: Former India coach Ravi Shastri has warned BCCI not to rush pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah back in team and learn from mistakes made by Pakistan with Shaheen Afridi.
Bumrah has not played any cricket since September 2022 due to a niggling back injury.
While the rumours of him returning for the Ireland series have raised hopes of Bumrah turning out for India in the World CUp later this year, Shastri has issued a warning.
“That’s the concern, you want him fit. He is such a world class operator but you want him fully fit. He is such an important cricketer, you think should we rush him for the World Cup. Then you do that and then lose him for four months after that. Much like Shaheen Afridi. Pakistan rushed him into that T20 World Cup and he has not played till just recently. He was out for four months,” said Shastri on The Week.
Pakistan had rushed in Shaheen Afridi for the 2023 T20 World Cup and he ended up limping off in the semi-finals. He could then return only April this year.
“Thin line you draw about being greedy and wanting to play and the individual has to think about himself. Sometimes you want to go back to the field and it can be a costly error. It’s something you have got to look at. I think there is Shami and Siraj so there is experience. You don’t need too many fast bowlers in India. It is more the spin department. That is also covered with Jaddu, Axar, you’ve got a few leg spinners around like Chahal, Kuldeep, Bishnoi. So you have enough depth there,” said Shastri.