EXPLAINED: The strange way in which Jasprit Bumrah twisted his ankle in the Manchester Test against England

Injuries and fitness concerns are not new with Jasprit Bumrah. The leader of India's bowling attack, also arguably the best bowler in the world at the moment, looked far from his best in the ongoing Manchester Test against England.

 

A telling stat shown by the host broadcaster told us that Bumrah hadn't bowled a single delivery in excess of 140kph till tea on Day 3 of the fourth Test so far. Therefore, his average speed of 134.3kph was also the lowest among all the matches he played in the series. Bumrah continued to be wicketless and if this wasn't enough, he suffered a freak injury as well.

 

This is how it happened. During the second session, Bumrah had gone off the field to get some treatment and it was meant to be a brief absence off the field.

 

However, while coming back down the stairs, he had twisted his left ankle while coming back down the stairs. It didn't look like a significant problem for the pacer but he certainly appeared to be hurting.

 

Nasser Hussain during his on-air commentary stint and Ravi Shastri later on both revealed that this was the reason why he wasn't able to bowl during a certain phase of play on the third day. Almost as soon as he was back on, he had to go off once more and it meant that Bumrah wasn't eligible to bowl until a certain period of time.

 

"He is shaking his head there. Don’t think he is too pleased. That is the left ankle. He twisted his ankle coming down the stairs," said Shastri during broadcast.

 

Ricky Ponting, also on commentary at the time, continued the chat, "He changed his boots as well. I noticed that when he did bowl that one over, he had a pair of boots that were blue and white, very different to what I see here."

 

Already, Bumrah's fitness is under the scanner, given that he is now playing successive Tests, something that the BCCI medical staff had advised against during the rehab plans in May this year. However, the eight-day break between the third and fourth Test, coupled with India trailing in the series 1-2 meant that the team management decided to risk Bumrah in this fixture.

 

Whether his overall fitness stays intact or not, only time will tell. For now, he and the team will hope that this freak injury doesn't escalate.

 

 

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