Without an iota of doubt, Jasprit Bumrah is the most prized possession of Indian cricket right now. The 31-year-old is one of the biggest match-winners the country has ever produced, and Bumrah has the knack of bringing his team back into the contest, no matter how dire the situation truly is.
However, over the last few months, the debate surrounding his workload has intensified, and things reached a flashpoint after he played just three Tests in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England.
Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has now weighed in on the matter, seemingly taking a dig at chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar over the entire workload discourse. The former India all-rounder stated that one needs to have brains to properly utilise the speedster in international cricket.
“Bumrah is a dada bowler. Bumrah ko lene ke liye bhi akal hona chahiye na. (For utilising Bumrah, you need to have brains). You made him a white-ball bowler, so how has he become a red-ball bowler?” said Shastri on Prabhat Khabar.
It is worth mentioning that Shastri played a crucial role during his tenure in getting Bumrah to play in the Test format. Before his debut in the longest format, most pundits and fans believed that the Mumbai Indians pacer was just good enough to play white-ball cricket, as his action wouldn’t sustain in Tests, but how has the speedster proved everyone wrong?
Earlier this year, Bumrah suffered back spasms after playing all five Tests against Australia, with the injury occurring midway through the final game in Sydney. This led to him missing the Champions Trophy and the initial few matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The latest injury led to the current team management carefully charting out a plan for Bumrah.
Bumrah’s workload
The injury layoff resulted in the management deciding well in advance that Bumrah would play just three Tests against England. This resulted in a lot of criticism coming the pacer’s way, with several suggesting that the current management needs to look beyond the pacer if he continues to pick and choose.
Ever since the series against England, Bumrah has been available for almost all international assignments barring the ODI series against Australia and South Africa.
Bumrah featured in all four home Tests against the West Indies and South Africa, and also the Asia Cup and T20I series against Australia. The speedster who is currently on a break will return to India’s squad for the five-match T20I series against the Proteas, beginning December 9.