Why dilly-dallying around Jasprit Bumrah paints a wrong picture of Team India and the pacer

After ending on the losing side at Lord’s, Team India is under the pump to bring the series on level terms again. Shubman Gill and Co will enter Old Trafford on July 23 trailing by 1-2 and hence would like to field the strongest XI. Barring a couple of places, every position in the eleven is sorted. However, the uncertainty about Jasprit Bumrah remains at large. Being the biggest match-winner present in the squad, the pacer needs to feature in the penultimate Test and give India the edge when they need it most. Despite the precarious state the team is in, there is no definite word on Bumrah.

Also Read | 'We've got to look at all the factors': Jasprit Bumrah's availability still in doubt for must-win Manchester Test, says India's assistant coach

No player bigger than the team, not even Bumrah

With Bumrah, the factor of workload management always walks alongside. The cricketer is perhaps the reason why the term has gained popularity over the years. No doubt Bumrah has been exceptional with the ball throughout his career, but if he can’t commit to playing an entire tour, then it can put a lot of weight on the team, leaving them yearning for balance in the side.

For instance, in the first Test of the ongoing series against England, India had put a challenging target of 371 in front of England. The hosts held an upper hand while chasing, but in the end things got tricky when Ben Stokes was dismissed, and 71 more runs were still needed with five wickets in hand.

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Team India needed an inspirational spell from their trump card at that point, but as a precautionary measure, Bumrah wasn’t brought back to the attack, and consequently, India lost the match by five wickets. What perplexed fans and experts was that during this phase was that he remained on the ground and on occasions scampered to save a boundary too.

Bumrah did not play the second Test at Edgbaston. Why? The Indian pacer seemingly has the liberty to cherry-pick the games in which he will make his presence. This is unprecedented, and one can navigate the entire history of Team India and yet may not find anything like that.

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This goes to show that the bowler’s stature in the team has surpassed even that of superstars like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Him taking proper rest and returning to play the Lord’s Test further proves that Bumrah’s whims and fancies are kept over the needs of the team.

Also Read | Ex-India captain slams Bumrah for playing England Tests on 'personal preference': 'If you are unfit, don’t play at all'

The board needs to set the example straight

The situation puts the chief selector, coach, captain, and the entire team management in a bad light because when Bumrah had already conveyed that he wouldn’t be able to play more than three Tests in the series, why did the board send him on tour in the first place? Didn’t the greatest minds of cricket in India envision a situation where the team could be 1-2 down after three Tests and would be counting on its pace spearhead to turn the tide?

Needless to say, this question shouldn’t have even emerged at this point. As one of the most experienced players in the team and the one who’s being looked up to by his teammates, it’s his duty to play and deliver for the team. The board could have considered selecting another player, as at least this situation wouldn’t have existed then.

As he had already played two matches in the series, the question now arises: to fulfill the three-match condition, which game will Bumrah choose to play next? Will it be in Manchester, which is a must-win game for India, or in the fifth and final Test, where all could already be over and the team will be playing for consolation.

It’s an unwelcome dilemma, which, at a time when the team is facing a series defeat, makes things even uglier.