NEW DELHI: 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.