Early this year, after leading Australia to a record 16-0 victory in the Women’s Ashes, skipper Alyssa Healy was sidelined by a stress injury in her right foot.
This injury ruled her out of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2025 and Australia’s three-match T20I series against New Zealand. It also raised doubts about her participation in the 2025 ODI World Cup, which will be held in India.
Healy has faced a challenging year in terms of fitness, having missed the semi-final of last year’s T20 World Cup due to a foot injury and an early end to her Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) season because of a knee problem.
Despite being sidelined, Healy has remained closely connected to the game. During her injury period, she has featured on Willow Talk and has been a regular guest on the LiSTNR Sport podcast.
Speaking on the LiSTNR Sport podcast, Healy discussed the management of the workload of India’s star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, issuing a strong warning to the Indian team regarding their fast bowler.
On one such podcast, Healy commented, “So they are managing his workload. But did you see that stat pop up? He has bowled the most overs of any quick bowler since 2024 in Tests.”
Since last year, Bumrah has bowled 410.4 overs, the highest among fast bowlers, with Australia’s Mitchell Starc in second place at 362.3 overs.
Bumrah, who took five wickets in the first innings of the Headingley Test, has been rested for the second Test at Edgbaston Cricket Stadium, Birmingham, to manage his workload.
Healy emphasised that Bumrah has bowled more overs than any other pacer in Test matches since last year. Given that he has a long career ahead, India must be careful not to undo the results of his surgery by overburdening him during the England series.
“He has already had that surgery. And he’s still having issues. As a human being, that is worrying. He’s got a life to live; he’s got a young family, and if you can’t take part in normal life, if you undo that surgery by breaking him again, you’ve lost him forever,” Healy added.
With Bumrah absent for the second Test match, the pace attack includes Mohammed Siraj and relatively inexperienced pacers like Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna. While Bumrah was difficult to handle at one end, the other pacers lacked the consistency in their lengths needed to trouble the England batters in the first Test. They will likely have learnt from that experience and, with Bumrah not playing, have much to prove.
Although currently absent, Healy is set to return to action. She has been named in the Australia A squad, which will face India A in Queensland this August. Healy has not kept wicket in a match since January but is confident that the Australia A matches, followed by the ODI series in India, will have her match-fit for up to nine World Cup games.
