New Delhi: More good news was revealed on Thursday when Ravichandran Ashwin revealed Jasprit Bumrah's comeback to India and his potential to participate in the 2023 World Cup.
The suspense surrounding Jasprit Bumrah's recovery and potential return to Team India only deepens with each passing day. It was stated last week that Bumrah's rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy following surgery for a stress fracture in his back was proceeding according to plan and that he might be ready to play again by the Ireland T20Is in August. Two days later, it was reported that Bumrah was scheduled to play in a few exhibition games even though his recovery was still a ways off and that he was bowling seven overs per day at the NCA.
The disappointing news was just starting to sink in when another exciting Bumrah development caught everybody off guard. He will compete in the Asia Cup in September, and on Thursday, Ravichandran Ashwin revealed the India pacer's return.
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Ashwin mentioned Bumrah as the single largest positive development while discussing the World Cup 2023 schedule that was released on Tuesday and forecasting what to expect from India's games against other opponents. Speaking of the India vs. Pakistan game, Ashwin's Bumrah spoiler would undoubtedly be music to every Indian cricket fan's ears. The game is slated to take place at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.
"The last few games between India and Pakistan in the ICC events have been extraordinary to say the least. I think we can expect another blockbuster India-Pakistan game," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. "It's going to be a very equally-balanced game because Pakistan also have a quality seam attack. For India, obviously, we are expecting Bumrah, maybe even Prasidh… all these guys to be fit. I don't know what the combination is going to look like but all in all, a great contest on hand."
Bumrah missed the two Asia Cup matches and the one T20 World Cup match he was scheduled to play in between India and Pakistan last year, but he will undoubtedly play in the three IND-PAK games this year if he stays fit. Despite the fact that there are still three and a half months until the World Cup, the mother of all clashes is already showing signs of being sold out, with hotels in Ahmedabad already being reserved in advance and tickets anticipated to move quickly once the window opens. Ashwin shares the same excitement.
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"The game I want to talk about is the one against Pakistan at Ahmedabad on October 15. Of course, it's going to be a sell-out. 130000 will be the capacity audience at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Even in the 2011 World Cup, Ahmedabad had happy memories at Ahmedabad. The same venue was called the Motera Stadium back then where he played our quarter-final against Australia and beat them. We qualified for the semifinal against Pakistan and went on to win that World Cup," added Ashwin.
"But from the Narendra Modi Stadium, we have some learning lessons from this year's IPL and some ODIs at this venue. From IPL, we know that this is Shubman Gill's home venue and he loves batting there. So he is really going to relish the game. During the IPL, the ball swung especially during the second innings of the game. Both Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya have enjoyed bowling here. Even Prasidh enjoyed bowling here during an ODI against West Indies. We defended 240-odd I think and ended up winning that game. So there has been a bit of lift and carry during the night. We are playing against Pakistan so I don't know how to weigh in the toss factor here. In other venues, we can choose to bowl first due to the dew but Ahmedabad is more of a catch-22 situation."
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