Bumrah left the stadium midway through day two, possibly to undergo scans.

 

Bumrah left the stadium midway through day two, possibly to undergo scans.

There is concern over India captain Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness after he left the field following just one over after lunch on the second day of the New Year's Test in Sydney. Around 2 pm local time, he was seen out of his Test whites, leaving the dressing room accompanied by the team doctor and a security officer. After the day's play, Prasidh Krishna revealed that Bumrah had suffered from back spasms.

Bumrah's workload on this tour has raised concerns, as he has bowled 152.1 overs in nine innings, taking 32 wickets at an impressive average of 13.06. He surpassed Bishan Bedi’s record for the most wickets by an Indian bowler in an Australian tour and was steadily climbing the all-time list.

Bumrah had missed three of the last five overs of the morning session before returning for the final two overs and bowling after lunch. He started his post-lunch spell by beating Alex Carey's bat with his first delivery, but his speeds were noticeably lower, ranging from the early 120s to the low 130s (kph). After completing that over, Bumrah left the field immediately and was not seen again until the broadcast showed him leaving the SCG in a car. He returned to the ground a couple of hours later, around 4:40 pm local time.

At the end of the Melbourne Test, where Bumrah bowled a total of 52 overs, his highest in a single Test match, Rohit Sharma had expressed concerns about the risk of over-bowling him.

India currently doesn't have a designated vice-captain, and Bumrah had served in that role, stepping up as captain when Rohit chose to rest himself from the final Test due to his poor form. During the middle session of day two, it seemed as though Virat Kohli had taken over the captaincy duties. India needs to win the Sydney Test to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Rohit had commented earlier, "If somebody is in such great form, you want to try and maximize that form as much as you can. And that's what we've been trying to do with Bumrah."

Rohit Sharma acknowledged that while it’s important to maximize Bumrah's form, there comes a point when it’s necessary to give him a bit of rest. “So, we’ve been very careful,” he said.

“I’ve been very careful. I talk to him about how he feels and stuff like that. So, yeah. Those things should be managed carefully. And I’m trying to do that on the field,” Rohit added.

Bumrah had spent a year away from the game in 2022 to recover from a stress fracture of the back.