'Absence of Bumrah will be huge loss': Ponting on India's bowling unit for WTC final

India and Australia will go up against each other at The Oval in June, eyeing to lift the coveted ICC World Test Championship mace. Ahead of the ICC WTC final, which begins on June 7, Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting appeared at a media event and spoke at length about Test cricket. The former Aussie skipper said that he believes India will certainly miss Jasprit Bumrah at the World Test Championship final.

“The fact that they have been able to produce so many very good fast bowlers over the period of the last 10 to 15 years. They have got success away. Their record in England is quite good as well. They will miss Bumrah. The absence of Bumrah will be a huge loss for them going in. But still have the likes of Shami and maybe Bhuvneshwar Kumar. These guys have actually bowled well in English conditions,” Ricky Ponting said at the media event.

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Jasprit Bumrah made his last competitive appearance during the T20I series against Australia in September last year before getting ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2022. While he was predicted to be fit on time for the Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, he remained absent from the squad. He was ultimately ruled out of the IPL 2023 and the ICC WTC final.

BCCI provides an update on Jasprit Bumrah's injury

On April 15, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) provided an update about Bumrah and said, “Mr Jasprit Bumrah underwent surgery in New Zealand on his lower back, which was successful and he remains pain-free. The fast bowler was advised by the specialist to start his rehab six weeks after the surgery and accordingly, Mr Bumrah has commenced his rehab management at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru”.

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India’s full squad for ICC World Test Championship final

• Batters: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul (Out with injury) 
• Wicketkeepers: KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan
• All-rounders: Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur
• Bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat
• Standby Players: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Mukesh Kumar

Australia’s full squad for ICC World Test Championship final

• Batters: Steve Smith (VC), David Warner, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Harris
• Wicketkeeper: Alex Carey, Josh Inglis
• All-rounders: Cameron Green, Mitchell Marsh
• Bowlers: Pat Cummins (Captain), Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Todd Murphy