There has been a fair amount of chatter about Jasprit Bumrah not playing the 5th Test against England at the Oval due to his workload management with the critics also pointing out the fact that India have won the matches that Bumrah hasn’t played in the tour. Former India player Dinesh Karhik, however, batted for the pacer, saying whenever he plays, Bumrah has more often than not brought back India into the game from almost impossible circumstances.
“You have to look at it from Jasprit Bumrah’s point of view. I think that these kinds of wins, the way the series has panned out, the way the young team has fought will actually help him in his career. I believe Jasprit Bumrah will be very proud of this young bowling attack and knowing him, he is not someone who shies away from pressure, big matches. Boss, he is in the ground, as a captain, any big moment, you go to Jasprit Bumrah, you want a wicket, go to Jasprit Bumrah, you want a 5-an over in a T20 match, you go to Jasprit Bumrah. If you are bowling with a bad, old ball which is 25 overs old in a ODI and want a wicket, go to Jasprit Bumrah. That is the name he has earned and he rightly deserves to be called that,” Karthik said on CricBuzz.
“Now this stat of when he doesn’t play, India does not win. It’s not his mistake. He is so impactful that otherd pale in comparison at times which is understandable. He is a world champion. When he finishes cricket, he will be spoken in the same parlance as a Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Dale Steyn. And I hope he will have a longer career knowing that I can pick and choose matches when I feel I am ready because there is no more pressure that I am the only one and at every match, I9 have to play. And at times, it’s unfair. It’s a body, he knows what he has gone through. 2 back injuries, one nasty ACL he had in 2014. It’s not easy and sometimes I feel we have to cut him some slack as well,” he added.
Sources in the Indian cricket board had affirmed to The Indian Express that it is not a case of Bumrah ‘picking and choosing’ matches he wants to play, but rather a common decision arrived at to allow the star pacer to extend his playing career as long as possible. After bowling his heart out during the last tour of Australia, Bumrah suffered a back injury before returning mid-way through the IPL. “This is not a case of workload management. There is injury management also in place. He had already undergone a lengthy rehab process in the lead up to the 2023 World Cup. Ideally, everyone is working to not see a repeat because spending a long time in rehab in case of another injury won’t be easy on him,” sources had told this paper.
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