Jasprit Bumrah could suffer from lumbar injuries: Strength and Conditioning experts

Indian right-arm fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is possibly the best in the world at the moment. Adaptability is his biggest strength and he is extremely hardworking. The 25-year-old has played a crucial part in whatever success Team India have had in the last few years. However, his bowling action which was criticised early on in his career is in the focus yet again now.

Bumrah has got a very unorthodox action. He lands his foot straight without bending it like most of the other bowlers do. This exerts a lot of pressure on his knee, backbone and experts believe that this freakish action could lead to lumbar injuries. The lumbar vertebrae are the five vertebrae between the rib cage and the pelvis.

An analysis of the bowling action of Jasprit Bumrah

Dr. Simon Feros, a lecturer in functional anatomy/strength and conditioning sciences at the Deakin University had a close look at Bumrah’s action along with renowned physiotherapist Gloster. The university is ranked the third best sports science school in the world and is one of the pioneers in the field.

“Bumrah tends to release the ball outside the line of the front foot. This means he can ‘push’ at the ball, usually resulting in an excellent in-swing delivery to a right-hand batter. However, if he exceeds 45 degrees of trunk lateral flexion (which I think he may on some occasions), then this element of his action may pose some injury concerns to his lumbar vertebrae,” said Feros as quoted by Outlook India.

However, the experts also made some positive observations. They said that his current action looks safe as his pelvis and shoulder are rightly aligned. Feros mentioned that Bumrah’s spine isn’t subjected to a great deal of stress.

“In terms of pelvis and shoulder segment alignment in back foot contact, delivery stride, and back foot contact, Bumrah’s action looks safe; he doesn’t appear to place his spine under excessive torsional stress,” Feros added.

The experts opined that the body will adjust to anything as time progresses. They noted that it is the bowling action of Jasprit Bumrah that makes his so deceptive and hard to pick.

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