On paper, India’s T20Is against Ireland from August 18 are less significant than the Men’s ODI World Cup happening from October 5 to November 19. But the comebacks of Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna in the T20I series is an important boost for India’s fast-bowling options from the ODI World Cup perspective.

Both Bumrah and Prasidh underwent back surgeries and did their rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. They played some practice games and are now almost ready to play international cricket again.

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Lakshmipathy Balaji is interested in seeing how Bumrah and Prasidh perform in the upcoming T20Is against Ireland, especially with the ODI World Cup on the horizon. Balaji, the former India fast-bowler, himself had a stress fracture in the back in 2007.

“When it comes to the match rhythm, something which is very important for a fast bowler, it gets better when you start playing. So, you have to keep playing and it doesn’t matter how many overs you bowl in nets, unless and until you get into the match, and play in it, the experience you get from it is very important.”

“Match experience is what makes you comfortable at the international level and as you play more and more, your body gets accustomed to the load and one gets to acclimatise to conditions. Also, the body gets to understand what are its demands at the moment,” said Balaji to IANS.

Ramji Srinivasan, the former strength and conditioning coach of the 2011 Men’s ODI World Cup-winning Indian team, believes fast bowling is all about rhythm and that also comes by including some breathing techniques.

“Every time you hit your stride, you inhale or exhale accordingly. Breathing is directly proportional to the rhythm. So, there are no doubting breathing modalities in fast bowling, which have to be imbibed in training and recovery protocol, especially pranayam can really calm them down.”

“Various techniques of breathing are there -– some may or may not like yoga, get into zen breathing, meditation or diaphragmatic breathing, which depends on individuals. It’s very important to keep your heart rate down in breathing techniques and prevent any sort of anxiety. Fast bowling is proportional to bowling and rhythm,” he said to IANS.

With a wait of 326 and 363 days respectively set to end when Bumrah, who will lead India in the series, and Prasidh take the field for the first T20I on Friday, the pressure will be high on the duo to find their peak with the ball.

“With the full fitness already being reached, I am sure that the build-up to the bowling workload at the NCA after surgery would have already given them a lot of confidence and body conditioning. So, it is about match rhythm now and you need to be 100% sure about how you go about match day, post-match, recovery and following day, how your training is.”

“So, all of these things will be understood and known when you are playing the matches. Normally, it takes two-three weeks of match experience and along with that, good recovery management will be helpful to them in going back to the load again and again, as well as meeting the demands of the game,” adds Balaji.

After a lower back injury caused him to miss the 20-over Asia Cup last year, Bumrah played in two T20Is against Australia. But before the series against South Africa began, he was pulled out due to a stress reaction in the back.

He subsequently missed the T20 World Cup in Australia, with then-chief selector Chetan Sharma suggesting that they erred in rushing Bumrah into action.

The hopes of a comeback looked bright when Bumrah was belatedly added to the ODI squad for the series against Sri Lanka in January, only to be withdrawn two days before the first game happened in Guwahati.

A 14-second clip from the BCCI on Wednesday showed Bumrah rattling the batter with his bouncer and yorker at nets. Before coming to Ireland, Prasidh looked lethal while picking 1-13 in a Maharaja CUP T20 match for his side Mysuru Warriors on August 13 in the T20 league of Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). Srinivasan wants both fast bowlers to take up the route of adaptation and progression in returning to international cricket.

“Progressing to adapt to a new match-playing situation as well as stress and strain under different conditions are very, very critical. To get adapted, you need to get into progression mode, which is one step at a time. Suddenly, when one tries to fire on all cylinders, it can be counterproductive.”

“Injuries which are serious, like stress fractures which needed an operation, the body mechanics may have changed -– like the way they are working out, bowling or the way the body muscles react to a stimulus. So, both of them need to be mindful of that in progression.”

“Like, try not to go flat out from day one and they need to understand their body better. In professional cricket, match situations are different and I am sure both are prepared for that. Word of caution is, progression and then adaption is very, very important,” he says.

Balaji, who played 8 Tests, 30 ODIs and 5 T20Is for India, believes the psychological challenge will be there for both Bumrah and Prasidh, urging them to listen to what their body wants on match days, citing his example.

“Both of them have played a lot of cricket and aren’t young anymore in international cricket. So, they know how their body reacts. I had my own routines when I had the surgery and then came back to cricket. I really invested and listened to the body more closely than before, according to the demands.”

“Personally, after undergoing surgery, it’s very important to listen to your body and its demands on a particular day. Plus, one has to ramp up their fitness levels to meet the demand of international cricket. Psychologically, you will have a lot of doubts, like when you are resuming your bowling action and how the body will react. So, they will have to progress very, very cautiously over a period of time.”

To keep Bumrah and Prasidh fresh and fit, Srinivasan emphasised the importance of recovery protocols, such as sleep and nutrition.

“Recovery is as important as training. Lack of recovery can cause serious repercussions – like it starts from a niggle and can become a serious injury.”

“Whether it’s active or passive recovery, it’s important. One of the most underrated things is sleep pattern =– most of them may or may not be aware of it and how important it’s for recovery.”

“Also, what state of sleep they are in -– whether it’s deep or rem stage sleep, those things have to be monitored. Recovery also has the nutrition protocol; it’s not just about ice, contrast bath or sleep pattern. What type of food you eat or what food has to be eaten to recover faster for building muscle or losing fat, those protocols come into play.”

“Apart from this, recovery protocols in exercise patterns as to be spot-on. At what intensity you exercise on your recovery day, it forms a part of the entire gamut of protocols. It’s not just contrast bath or massage, it spreads deeper.”

If Bumrah and Prasidh bowl their four overs in the three T20Is against Ireland with no hiccups, it will be a tremendous boost for the Indian team who are still assessing their best 15-member squad for the ODI World Cup at home.

With his speed, variations, smartness and hard-to-pick bowling action, Bumrah is currently the most impactful fast bowler India has while providing the much-needed cutting edge as the leader of the pack.

On the other hand, Prasidh bowls probing lines and lengths in a hit-the-deck style while generating high speeds, which made him an ideal pacer to be the middle-overs enforcer for India in ODIs.

“Both of them are very important in the fast-bowling leadership group. When it comes to Jasprit Bumrah, who has done very well and what impact he can create, he adds up to the team’s strength. When you have an experienced player like him, you ought to look at his bowling workload.”

“At the same time, Prasidh is tall and looks to do high-arm action and gets good bounce off the wicket. So, he will go through a phase of his fitness being monitored. As far as I am concerned, post-surgery is a phase where you have done everything right and whatever the fill-in-the-blanks questions were asked, you have filled all of them. Now it’s time for them to react on the field and that’s the maximum you can do.”

“When it comes to injury, surgery is something which is the last step and after that, you are pushing forward to get back to your bowling, which is very much important as a fast bowler.”

“So, 90% of the job is done, it’s only the 10% or maybe 15%, where they need to listen to the body and add value to their performances, which will hugely impact the team. Indian fast-bowling contingent will be benefitting as with the addition of those two, as they add a lot of strength to the World Cup squad,” elaborated Balaji.

Srinivasan, meanwhile, wants the fast-bowling duo to be very understanding and mindful of their bodies and bowling workload in the build-up to the ODI World Cup. “Fast bowling is one of the most difficult aspects in cricket, so one has to be supremely fit to be an effective fast bowler over a period of time. Having seen a spate of injuries, especially in the last five-six years, everybody has to be mindful of embarking on a fitness regime and what is the design bespoke for them.”

“Jasprit Bumrah is different from Prasidh Krishna or vice-versa, which is a no-brainer. Each one has to do their own tailormade protocols and I am sure they are given one to follow. Take one step at a time and progress over a period of time. Target should be World Cup for both of them and for that, they need to look at long, short and mid-term goals and plan bowling workload accordingly.”

After the Ireland tour, India has a maximum of six ODIs in the Asia Cup and three matches against Australia. Before their quest to end a ten-year wait for a World Cup trophy begins on October 8, India would be earnestly praying that they have Bumrah and Prasidh in their line-up to see the dream of winning the title at home turn into reality.