New Delhi, Jul 29: Ahead of the Manchester Test against England, injuries to fast bowlers resurfaced in the Indian team. Akash Deep (groin niggle at Lord’s), Nitish Kumar Reddy (out of series due to knee ligament injury), and Arshdeep Singh (cut on bowling hand during training) were unavailable - reigniting concerns over India’s fast-bowling injury stocks.

This issue extends beyond the current squad. Mayank Yadav was ruled out of IPL 2025 due to recurrence of back injury and underwent a surgery in New Zealand, while Umran Malik, sidelined since last year with dengue and a hip injury, also sat out. Though he briefly rejoined KKR in April, it was for continuing rehab under a ‘return to cricket’ programme.

With Mohsin Khan and Avesh Khan also undergoing knee surgeries, deeper questions have emerged: Are current approaches to preparation, workload, rehab, and recovery timelines affecting India’s pace prospects? Fast bowling, one of cricket’s most demanding disciplines, puts immense strain on the lumbar spine. Experts point to sudden workload spikes as a major cause of rising injury issues among Indian quicks.

“There’s a generation of bowlers getting injured because they didn’t bowl enough deliveries when they were younger. Around the 2010 era, workload management and restriction on the number of balls they could bowl began. Injuries happen when you have workload spikes - in other words, you bowl ten overs one week, and next week, 50 overs are bowled.”

“That means the body hasn't progressively adapted and grown stronger because the workload has spiked and that’s the issue,” said Steffan Jones, a specialist fast bowling coach who runs PaceLab Ltd and was formerly with Rajasthan Royals, to IANS.

He further explains many bowlers are ‘under-bowled’ in high-intensity environments. “For generations, bowlers haven't bowled enough balls and then all of a sudden they're asked to bowl a lot of balls when they're past 18, which is one of the reasons a lot of bowlers are undercooked and under-bowled in high-intensity bowling.”

“Bowling more balls in the nets is irrelevant because its intensity is very different to match day scenarios. Unfortunately, those are counted as part of their weekly loads, which creates a mismatch between low-volume and high-intensity bowling. Though bowling numbers are being monitored, they aren’t always representative of the intensity they want in the game, added Jones.

Beyond workload spikes, Jones also points to poor technique and lack of general strength. “Fast bowling is not about being side on, it’s a disassociation game. That's where you generate torque, speed and power from. It's that separating from your pelvis going forward and your trunk being slightly side on – that’s not taught in fast bowling. It’s not being taught correctly because current coaches, who are ex-bowlers, are now coaching the way they played.”

“Coming to lack of proper general strength, people need to judge how strong a cricketer is, based on other sports that are very similar, like a triple jump, sprint, or javelin throw. Cricketers are not strong enough, that's a fact, as it’s a blanket statement across every cricketing nation in the world,” he added.

A common injury among Indian fast bowlers - including Bumrah, Mayank, and Prasidh Krishna - is the lumbar stress fracture, often triggered by spikes in workload. “If injuries stem from overload and workload spikes, the cause can be identified and managed - otherwise, the same injury is likely to return. Though several protocols exist to prevent recurrence, the risk remains very high if one doesn’t identify the real reason.”

“From research, we now know that after a stress fracture in a fast bowler, that particular bone segment where this injury occurred has a reduction in bone mineral density for the next 12–18 months. Because there's less healthy bone there, the risk of re-injuring it is very, very high.”

“If you stack up bowling after bowling and see high spikes in bowling loads, that piece of bone becomes hugely vulnerable. If the D3 levels are depressed at the same time and you're not able to generate new bone quickly or effectively enough, then a stress reaction is going to occur,” said John Gloster, former India physio and now head physiotherapist at Rajasthan Royals, to IANS.

When Bumrah burst onto the scene in IPL 2013 with his unorthodox action and rare skill set, many doubted his longevity. Yet, he defied expectations to become arguably India’s greatest fast bowler. Despite concerns, he rose steadily from U-19 to domestic cricket, then to Mumbai Indians and India, sustaining only a few major injuries — a left knee ACL surgery in 2014, a lower-back stress fracture in 2019, and back surgery in 2023.

In contrast, Mayank made a similar impact during IPL 2024 with his raw pace, clocking 156.7 kmph. But his rise has been hampered by injuries. He played just four matches for Lucknow Super Giants before a side strain ruled him out.

He returned in October to make his T20I debut against Bangladesh, only to be sidelined again with a back injury requiring extended rehab at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence. His IPL 2025 return was further delayed by a toe issue.

When he finally played, he was down on pace, relied on variations, and featured in just two matches before the back injury resurfaced — ending his season. The larger worry: over the past four years, Mayank has played only a handful of competitive games.

Bumrah played 11 Cooch Behar Trophy games across two seasons before being identified for the U19 camp at the CoE. In contrast, Mayank featured in fewer matches than him. Before his India debut in 2016, Bumrah had played over 20 domestic games across three formats. Mayank, by comparison, had played just one Ranji Trophy appearance, 17 List A matches, and 14 T20s before making his India debut.

Jones called Mayank an exciting talent with natural pace, but noted his IPL speeds dropped due to his body entering ‘protection mode’. “The human body is concerned with safety and signals that to the computer in the skull, which is your brain. I don't know what he did training-wise, but it is unfortunate.”

He further emphasized there’s no major technical flaw in Mayank’s bowling action. “He doesn't need to be that injured all the time, and that’s for sure. But I'm sure people who are helping him are doing their best. I would really like to see how he trains. There's not any major aspect wrong with his bowling action. There's fundamentally nothing technically that would cause him to be that injured all the time.”

“I would question how much bowling he did when he was younger. The issue in India is the amount of bowling in the nets and games done by young bowlers. There's horror stories about young bowlers bowling for two hours every day, and that will lead to injuries - which is a fact, not an opinion.”

From the outside, the protocol for an injured fast bowler seems straightforward: diagnosis at the CoE, followed by rehab. Once declared clinically fit, they begin training and their bowling sessions are monitored closely. If deemed ready by the monitoring team, they go through the return-to-play process and are released to play competitive cricket again.

If the protocols are right, why do recurring injuries keep emerging? Are players being rushed back, and if so, why? “Fast bowlers can suffer various injuries — it’s biomechanically unusual, as humans aren’t naturally designed for fast bowling, so their bodies face a lot of stress and strain.”

“Now most of the time what's happening now is, the diagnosis is generally fair and happening well. But what happens after that post diagnosis phase - rehabilitation and return to play process, that’s very complex and perhaps that is where we can work better,” said Ashish Kaushik, the former CoE head physiotherapist who was a part of Lucknow Super Giants’ and UP Warriorz support staff in IPL 2025.

Kaushik added, “Once the diagnosis is done, after that their recovery timeline is set which has to be accurate. The medical and rehab team has to have a very good understanding of how long will it take for the tissue to heal from metabolic, rehabilitation exercises, and modification of their current state standpoints.”

“Once that gets implemented, then we overcome the injury itself. Then starts the biggest quest of this whole journey, which is how do you prevent it from happening again. The concern now that is coming up is then why are these recurring? The diagnosis is great, but sometimes the injury timelines are not set correctly.”

Earlier the recovery program was said to be a co-ordinated exercise through the range of staff experts, with contradictions ironed between experts and fast bowling coach Troy Cooley. However now there appears to be a change in this approach. Now if a player has a recurring injury, then the COE clears the injury and sends the player back, without any modification to action or anything else, which in turn is detrimental for pacers’ long-term sustainability.

Speaking to IANS on the condition of anonymity, a source criticised the current rehab process. “Currently, it’s a very poor approach to rehabilitation. Right now, the process has become disorganised. A player comes in, gets checked, and is told to rest for 15 days without any structured plan. After that, he suddenly starts running and doing other activities, often without proper progression or oversight,” said the source.

India rarely produces genuine pace talents like Mayank and Umran who can consistently hit speeds 150 kmph and above. Yet, such rare prospects are often fast-tracked amid the constant pressure on them to bowl quicker - exposing a deeper issue: lack of patience and long-term development planning.

“If workload was high, then how much of it is high, as even research has not been able to agree on that, which also means that theory of it causing injuries has some holes. If workload is high, we need to understand its overall working better and the spikes - like how much is the overall workload of bowling, running, time spent on the field and doing workouts in the gym.”

“Generally, the focus is a bit more on managing skills workload, but at the same time, managing the gym workload is also important. At times, it becomes more significant to manage it, as bowling is a primary job.”

“It’s important for us to understand the definition of workload management correctly and manage it from everything that gives the body any stress or strain. Biomechanics of bowling again is a very complex area where theories have changed drastically over the last few years in terms of what is likely or less likely to cause injuries.” added Kaushik.

Mayank’s upcoming long rehab following back surgery in Christchurch stands as a cautionary tale - highlighting the huge responsibility of managing rare pace-bowling talent with care and long-term vision. “He’s a hip-dominant, fascia-driven bowler. For him, it's about the specificity of training.”

“He shouldn't add more bulk to his body because that may slow him down, and more muscle is not what he needs. He needs a stronger core, that’s for sure and lots of corrective work around key parts of the body. Then he needs to do more sprinting, jumping, and bowling with varied intensity,” added Jones.

At its core, the issue reflects a shifting culture around fast bowling in Indian cricket and whether key stakeholders are recognising this change? More importantly, are they ready to adapt and restructure systems accordingly? Questions remain over whether enough is being done to educate coaches, players, and support staff, more so when these concerns are gaining global attention.

Ultimately, this may signal a broader cultural transformation. When fast bowlers suffer recurring injuries - either due to rehab flaws or being rushed back - team plans fall apart. This pattern demands a serious re-examination of recovery systems, so that they don’t derail team strategies or outcomes in crucial matches.

(IANS)

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