Shane Bond's cautionary advice to Jasprit Bumrah: 'Avoid playing more than 2 Tests in a row'

Jasprit Bumrah's recent back injury has raised significant worries about his future in cricket, with former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond warning that another injury in the same area could potentially end his career. Currently, Bumrah is in the process of rehabilitation at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

The pacer hasn’t played since the fifth and final Test against Australia in Sydney, where he walked off for scans on the second day. Initially diagnosed as back spasms, the issue later emerged as a stress-related injury, ruling him out of the Champions Trophy.

Bond himself was among the first pacers in the modern era to undergo back surgery, doing so at 29; the same age at which Bumrah had his operation. Despite battling persistent injuries, Bond stretched his career until 34, but eventually had to step away, first from Tests and then from all formats in a matter of months.

“Look, I think Booms will be fine, but it's just that [workload] management [matters],” Bond told ESPNCricinfo. “Looking at the tours and the schedule going forward, where are the opportunities to give him a break, but really where are the danger periods? And often it is that the [transition from] IPL to the Test championship will be a risk.”

Could be a ‘career-ender’

Bond warned that the Indian team management needs to tread carefully during the five-Test series against England, urging Gautam Gambhir and co. to not play Bumrah “more than two [Tests] in a row.” He further stated that another injury at the same point could be a “career-ender.”

"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. Coming out of the back end of the IPL into a Test match is going to be a huge risk. And so how do they manage that is going to be key.

"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."

India’s upcoming tour of England is a demanding one, spanning five Tests between June 28 and August 3. Given Bumrah’s workload during the recent five-Test series against Australia – where he bowled 151.2 overs, including a marathon 52-over spell in Melbourne – Bond believes India must be extra cautious.

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