After a hiatus of 11 months, top pacer Jasprit Bumrah returned to India nets on Wednesday and bowled with intensity and skill that made him a fearsome opponent for batsmen.
The 29-year-old last played for India against Australia in T20I match at Hyderabad on September 25, 2022. Since then he was sidelined with a back injury that required him to undergo a surgery.
However, Bumrah made his much-awaited return to India colours when he was named captain of the national side on July 31 for the away T20I series against Ireland starting on Friday in Dublin.
The Indian team made its touchdown in Ireland on Tuesday and wasted little time in hitting the ground a day later.
In a video shared by BCCI on X, formerly Twitter, Bumrah was seen bowling at full tilt, a comforting sight ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup.
Bumrah rattled a right-hand batter with a whizzing bouncer, forcing him to duck under the ball. He zoomed in on the toes of a left-handed batsman with a spot-on yorker, eliciting some appreciative nods from others at India nets.
The net session could be viewed as a sum total of his recovery process at the NCA, where he gradually increased the workload and followed a designer fitness regime.
The India squad also includes pacer Prasidh Krishna, who is also making a comeback to the India side after a lengthy injury lay-off, forced by surgery to treat a lumbar stress fracture.