1983 World Cup Winner Adds New Angle To Jasprit Bumrah 'Workload' Row: "Truth Is..."

1983 World Cup winner Balvinder Singh Sandhu supported Indian cricket team star pacer Jasprit Bumrah after he faced criticism for 'picking and choosing' matches. BCCI made it clear ahead of the Test series against England that Bumrah will not play all five games. However, when Bumrah was rested despite India trailing 1-2 after the fourth match, the pacer came under a lot of fire from several experts as well as fans. However, Sandhu was completely in favour of Bumrah in the 'workload management' row and said that even batters take breaks but when it comes to bowlers, it is more heavily criticised.

“In these seven years, how many batsmen have gone without injury breaks? How many have opted out of a series quietly? Nobody really questions them. But when it comes to a fast bowler, everyone seems ready to pounce. The truth is — fast bowling is brutal," Sandhu wrote in his column for Mid-Day.

“I was stunned when I saw these numbers. Jasprit Bumrah has had an average rest of just 3.2 days for every playing day across the last seven years, while Mohammed Siraj has had 3.5 days, and Mohammed Shami, 3.7. And remember — both Bumrah and Shami have also missed matches because of injuries. That only makes these statistics even more telling," he added.

Meanwhile, following India's Asia Cup squad announcement, ex-Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif welcomed pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's return to the T20I set-up following a mixed outing in England where he struggled with fitness in the fourth Manchester Test, telling his critics to "open their mouths carefully" on the "promising diamond of India".

Bumrah will be returning to the T20I set-up after over a year of heavy red-ball grind, which saw him also feature in tours to Australia and England. Following a record-breaking tour to Australia with 32 wickets, Bumrah took 14 wickets in three matches during the England tour, including two five-wicket hauls, but his lack of success with the new ball throughout the series and fitness issues during the fourth Manchester Test raised questions over his workload once again and whether he would play the Asia Cup for India in T20I format.

Speaking about the pace spearhead's return, Kaif pointed out how Bumrah's critics pointed out that whenever he played a Test during the recently concluded England tour, India did not win.

"Open your mouth carefully because you mentioned that whatever matches we played in England, we lost when he played. You better look at how many matches he has played and India won them, go and find out that as well, regardless of the format. When he plays, how many times does he give match-winning performances? Go and find that stat as well. Bumrah is a promising diamond of India. You do not report him. There are no stains on him," he said on his YouTube channel.

(With ANI inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Jasprit Bumrah Balwindersingh Harbansingh Sandhu India Cricket Team Cricket