Injuries to fast bowlers are continuously becoming a matter of concern for the Indian cricket team. The news of Jasprit Bumrah not being fit for the Sri Lanka tour has made this problem more serious. Many key players are currently recovering from their injuries in BCCI’s Center of Excellence, while the fast bowling options in the current team also seem limited.
The seriousness of the situation can be gauged from the fact that out of the four fast bowlers selected for the current series, two have not yet made their debut in international cricket. In recent times, many young and experienced fast bowlers have suffered from injuries, due to which the pressure on the bowling resources of the Indian team is increasing.
How many were injured within 1 month?
Recent times have been difficult for the Indian fast bowling unit. Prince Yadav suffered a hamstring injury during the T20 series against Zimbabwe. Ashok Sharma, who made his debut for India in the same series, also suffered a serious back injury. Harshit Rana could also play only four matches after returning from injury and then got troubled by hamstring problem. Due to injury, he remained out of the T20 World Cup and the 2026 IPL season.
Who have been injured for a long time?
Fast bowler Akash Deep has been away from the field for a long time due to stress fracture. His absence has further affected the Indian bowling options. On the other hand, India’s leading fast bowling all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy are also suffering from quadriceps injury. Due to the absence of both, the team’s options to maintain the balance of batting with fast bowling have also been limited.
Which young bowlers were injured?
Mayank Yadav had caught the attention of the cricket world with his fast pace and bowling ability, but injuries affected the pace of his career. A similar situation was seen with Mohsin Khan too, where despite his talent, fitness related problems kept him away from the field. Umran Malik also made a great start with his stormy pace, but due to injuries he could not play cricket continuously. Like him, the talent of many other fast bowlers could not be fully revealed due to injuries.
What is the reason behind this?
According to veteran fast bowling coach Stephen Jones, the injury problem of fast bowlers may be related to the initial stage of their development. He believes that the pressure of excessive bowling on young bowlers at a young age can affect their fitness in the long run. “Coaching-wise, maybe it’s not up to the mark but it’s not just an India thing, it’s a global problem. I’ve been playing a lot since childhood and I’ve practiced bowling good pace, and I’ve never had an injury. When I haven’t been able to play matches, it’s because I’m not as good as Andrew Caddick,” he said.
He further said “In my generation, we played a lot of matches between the ages of 16 and 18 but I think the real problem is that we put too much pressure on young bowlers at the age of 12 to 14, when their spines are still delicate, still growing, still reaching their maximum speed. They bowl a lot at that age, and these injuries appear later, at the age of 17 or 18. Then, ironically, this is the time when workload management directives come into effect and he is somehow out of cricket either due to mandatory rest or due to injury.”
Is there a need for separate training for bowlers?
Stephen Jones says that there is no dearth of fast bowling talent in India, but their training and development needs to be handled with more care. The physical requirements of fast bowlers are different from those of batsmen. In such a situation, their fitness, bowling workload and recovery plan should also be prepared accordingly.