 "India's Jasprit Bumrah celebrates with teammates after taking a wicket. Reuters")
While a significant time has passed since the culmination of the Test series against England, the row over Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness is still making noise. India’s decision to rest Bumrah in the must-win 5th Test was met with sheer criticism, and the management was blamed for the poor workload planning. However, in the defense of the management, they had announced that Bumrah would only feature in three Tests, which exactly turned out to be the case in the 2-2 drawn series.
Giving Bumrah a regular reprieve is a part of the strategy to contribute to the longevity of his career. However, the fans tend to react whenever a situation arises where India need a win but the biggest match-winner is uncertain to play.
Bharat Arun comes to Bumrah’s rescue
Addressing all the clamour, former India bowling coach Bhrat Arun, who has closely followed the career of Bumrah, has stepped forward to defend the pacer’s workload. Highlighting the need to protect the gifted bowler, Arun called the criticism regarding his workload as “unfair”.
“It’s so sad to hear about this stuff against Bumrah. He has had a serious surgery, and people should understand it is not as if the surgery is done and he is all good forever. No, this is far more serious stuff on his back now,” he says," Arun told The Indian Express.
Considering the fact that Bumrah ended the series with 14 wickets, picking two fifers, and had already conveyed the state of his availability, Arun stated that Bumrah did nothing to deserve any criticism.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“It’s not picking and choosing. Just a few months back, he was hailed as the world’s greatest fast bowler in Australia, and now, he is being criticised unfairly. Did he underperform in the three Tests? Two fifers he took,” said Arun.
“Why do you think it was announced way before the series itself that he will play 3 Tests, precisely to stop this kind of nonsense. Not for the world to fall to temptation and say play him as this Test is crucial … His body is like that now. We have to be careful and understand how hard this entire effort is and such a great feat for him to do what he is doing – playing for India through all this,” said the former bowling coach.