Jasprit Bumrah has become a habit for the current Indian team, one that is hard to give up.
That is why Mohammed Siraj misses his “Jassi bhai” even when it was all about him, standing tall on his kills in the Oval Test. Bumrah’s presence, and of course his absence, is such an imposing phenomenon around the Indian cricket team that even the opposition feels the pinch at times. “I thought I’d get through a press conference without being asked about Jasprit Bumrah,” an irritated Ben Stokes had shot back when asked about the Indian speedster ahead of the Lord’s Test this summer.
But no matter how essential and indispensable he seems, no matter how robotic his efficiency is, the fact is Bumrah is made of flesh and blood. He too ages, his body suffers wear and tear.
The 31-year-old knows that and is trying to adjust his cricket accordingly. “I have to be smart... as I am not becoming younger by the day. I have to take care of my body as I would love to play for longer and contribute in all three formats,” he had told Sky Sports ahead of India’s recent five-match Test series in England.
But despite all his “smart” steps — he played in only three of the five games as part of his workload management — Bumrah has landed in the eye of a storm.
While many feel that he did the wise thing by shedding off some of the load, there are some who feel he hasn’t served the team to the best of his abilities, and not playing the crucial fifth Test at The Oval was almost a cardinal sin.
Among the ones who have directly or indirectly questioned his decision to
“pick and choose” games he would play include prominent names like Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan.
“When you are playing for your country, forget the aches and the pains. On the border, do you think that the jawans are complaining about cold? What did Rishabh Pant show you? He came out to bat with a fracture. That is what you expect from the players. I hope that the word ‘workload’ goes out of the Indian cricket dictionary... this workload is only a mental thing, not so much a physical thing,” Gavaskar told India Today.
Pathan, on his YouTube channel, said that he felt Bumrah, conscious of his workload, held himself back in crunch moments. He cited one example from the Lord’s Test. “There were moments, like when a sixth over was needed. I spoke about this during commentary as well... Joe Root had been dismissed by him 11 times, and in that Lord’s Test, Bumrah bowled five overs. Just one more over, the sixth, could have pushed harder. I felt he held back a little there. There was also some pick-and-choose, which I’ve always been against, and that was visible too.”
The Bumrah debate can be fought from two angles. You may speak for him, arguing that he has been a champion bowler for Team India and
so he has earned the right to be sensitive about his body. So there’s no crime in him
not playing all the Tests in England.
Or, if you are against his decision of being selective, you may point out that India could have easily lost the Oval Test, which they narrowly won by 6 runs. And had Shubman Gill’s team lost that match, one couldn’t be blamed if he thought that Bumrah’s absence cost the team the game. In such a scenario, the pacer would have faced deadlier bouncers that would have been hard to defend or duck.
But what then should have been Bumrah’s ideal smart move? At the risk of it being an absolutely unpopular opinion, one thinks that Bumrah must make his cricket format-specific going forward. That would be really smart — for the team, for him, his body.
Not playing all games in a series despite being fit seems to be a failed experiment now. And if reports in some quarters are to be believed, the Team India management, the selectors and the BCCI may come up with steps that will restrict players from skipping games as per their choice.
Here, of course, one must mention the point that Bumrah had let the management know about his plans before the team left for England. They selected him in the squad fully aware that he would not be playing all the Tests. More importantly, it was up to the team to decide which matches he would play. At least, that is what assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said. “I don’t think picking and choosing is a fair comment to Bumrah, he did say he was going to play three games, he left it up to us which three he played, we’ve tried to manage the situation,” the former Dutch international said during the series.
So, blaming Bumrah for not playing at The Oval would not have been entirely correct. But at the same time, is it a fair logic to include a player in the squad on such a tough and taxing tour when he cannot be at the warfront at the team’s call every time? Perhaps not. Because that is why Mohammed Shami was not chosen for the series against England. “I don’t think he (Shami) was going to be able to
play five Tests, and at the moment I don’t think his workload is where it needs to be,” chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar had said, while revealing the reasons for not considering Shami.
Shami may not be a Bumrah, but as a pacer, he too is very precious to Team India for the skills he has got. Were the selectors unfair on Shami? Debatable. What is not debatable is that it is time Bumrah gets selective about formats, not matches within a series or a tournament.
When you have a bowler of Bumrah’s calibre in your arsenal, it is only normal to expect him to play in most of the games if he is in the squad.
So Bumrah, the Indian team management and the selectors, perhaps, should sit together and decide what the world’s current best fast-bowler should concentrate on going forward... Shouldn’t it be white-ball cricket only, given Team India’s calendar for the next two-odd years?
This year, India have two more Test series, against West Indies and South Africa. Both are at home, so one assumes the spinners will have a bigger role to play than the pacers. The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held early next year and the ODI World Cup in 2027, which will be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Bumrah, undoubtedly, would be needed there.
Given Bumrah’s current fitness situation — he has a troublesome back — and if it is longevity as an international cricketer that he is after, Bumrah must give up his Test career and play only in ODIs and T20Is. In shorter spells, Bumrah will be a sharper
weapon for Team India. Remember what he did in the last T20 World Cup, which India won? He was the Player of the Tournament.
Bumrah had given up his captaincy aspirations to take care of his body. “I discussed about my workloads going forward, spoke to the people who have managed my back, spoke to the surgeon. I came to the conclusion I have to be a little more smart, so I called the BCCI and said I don’t want to be looked at in a leadership role.” If he can overpower
the temptation to be the Team India captain, he can surely also give up his love for
Test cricket.
Or has Test cricket, the romanticism of it, become a habit for Bumrah?