Three Experts at NCA Helping Bumrah Regain Full Fitness Ahead of Champions Trophy: Reports

The star Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has finished his five-week rest period and has now started his rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. He is in a race against time to regain his full fitness before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Bumrah was injured during the BGT 2024-25 series in Australia, In the fifth Test match, Bumrah didn't come out to bowl in the second innings due to a back spasm. After this, he was asked to offload for five weeks. 

During his rest period, he avoided gym workouts and physical activities. The BCCI has been very strict about keeping information from the NCA private. Apart from a few key people connected to the academy and the Indian team, no one has clear details about Bumrah’s current fitness status.

However, PTI has learned that a dedicated team in Bengaluru is working hard to get Bumrah back on the field. At the NCA, any centrally-contracted injured player is usually assigned a team that includes a strength and conditioning coach, a physio to track recovery, and a bowling or batting coach to monitor skill improvement as part of the "Return to Play" process.

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According to the reports from PTI, a BCCI official said, “Strength and Conditioning (S&C) coach Rajnikanth Sivagnanam and physio Thulasi Ram Yuvraj are currently working on Bumrah’s rehabilitation with the Head of Sports Science, Dr Nitin Patel, personally monitoring the whole process. The national team S&C coach Soham Desai and physio Kamlesh Jain are also kept in the loop.” 

🚨 JASPRIT BUMRAH UPDATE 🚨

- Jasprit Bumrah is all set to start the rehab at NCA and the team is likely to play the waiting game on his Champions Trophy participation. [Sahil Malhotra from TOI] pic.twitter.com/7XTj1svdUs

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 9, 2025

When Bumrah resumes bowling, Troy Cooley is expected to oversee that phase. A final report on his fitness will be prepared by Nitin Patel and sent to BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and chief selector Ajit Agarkar. Head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma will also be kept updated on his recovery.

If Bumrah isn’t fit in time, the BCCI can directly name Harshit Rana as his replacement. However, the team is likely to wait until the last possible moment to give Bumrah every chance to be ready for the big ICC tournament.

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