Why Dravid refused to conduct Bumrah’s fitness Test at NCA

Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah’s recovery is well on track, and it won’t be long before he makes his comeback to the national team. However, he faces a challenge in getting his fitness test done after the National Cricket Association (NCA) in Bangalore headed by Rahul Dravid refused to conduct the test. The 26-year old fast bowler had suffered a stress fracture in his lower back this August, and has not played a game since India’s tour of West Indies this year.

As per a report in Times of India, Dravid told Bumrah that as he had his own set of specialists for his treatment and recovery and ignored the help of NCA throughout his rehab, it would be difficult for the NCA to conduct his test now, as if the injury resurfaces in the future, NCA will be blamed for giving him the fitness clearance.

Dravid has, thus, asked India’s assistant trainer Yogesh Parmar to not send Team India’s trainer Nick Webb to Bangalore for conducting Bumrah’s test at the NCA.

“They have told him, ‘you’re fine. So there’s no need of a fitness test. You should go and seek it from the specialists you’ve been working with because they’re the people who have been testing you and know your fitness status the best,” a source was quoted as saying.

Reports had also emerged that both Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, who is also injured and out of the national team currently, had expressed their apprehensions at going to the NCA, after the long list of discrepancies in their reports. Last year, Wriddhiman Saha had been given the fitness clearance by the NCA for the IPL, but it emerged later that the keeper had been carrying a possibly career-threatening injury since the start of 2018.

Last week, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was cleared to play the ODIs and the T20Is against West Indies, but broke down after just two games after he complained that his groin injury had resurfaced. He had been cleared of all injuries, however, with the hernia resurfacing questions have once again been asked about the specialists at the NCA.