New Delhi: Star Australia all-rounder Cameron Green, who is on the verge of a comeback after undergoing surgery and the eventual recovery period, opened up about India’s pace stalwart Jasprit Bumrah reaching out to him when he was to go under the knife. He said that a “special” message from the yorker-specialist gave him the much-needed reassurance about his surgery decision.
Green had suffered a stress fracture last year, and while the injury could have healed naturally over a period of nine to twelve months, he chose to undergo surgery in October. Due to this, Green was long absent from both Australia’s red and white ball teams as he went into rehabilitation following that. “Jasprit Bumrah reached out the night before I was getting surgery. He was in the middle of a Test match in India,” Green said.
“Just a few things like that are really special and makes you feel a lot better about it. To get someone like him to reach out and then to watch him during the summer, to see how good he is obviously post-surgery, filled me with a lot of confidence,” Green told reporters ahead of Australia’s World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa, which begins on June 11. He is a part of the Pat Cummins-led side, which aims to retain the elite mace.
The Bumrah connection?
Green was with the Mumbai Indians (MI) during the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season when Bumrah was sidelined as he recovered from the same procedure. The Indian speedster had missed the 2022 T20 World Cup but made an impressive comeback post-surgery as he played a key role in India’s rampant run to the 2023 ODI World Cup final, also powering the Men in Blue to the T20 World Cup title last year.
Bumrah then continued his red-hot form in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he was named Player of the Series, picking 32 wickets and leading India to their only win in the five-match series. Green, 26, also received messages of encouragement from fellow bowlers in the team who had undergone similar procedures, including New South Wales pacer Ben Dwarshuis and Jaso Behrendorff.
“The main reason for (the operation) was to shave down some bone – I’ve obviously had a bit of trauma in my L4, and extra bone had just developed on that part of the spine,” Green spoke on the ‘Unplayable Podcast’ of cricket.com.au.
“By doing that, it forced my spine not to be able to bend as well, and it was probably smashing up against this new bone that wasn’t helping it flex. That put a bit too much pressure (on the L4 vertebrae) that I’d actually broken the facet joint on the other side, which was quite rare for a back injury,” Green added.
Cameron Green recently revealed that Jasprit Bumrah reached out to him a day before he was to undergo surgery for a stress fracture. Green is a part of Australia’s WTC 2025 final squad. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
