Did India 'Overbowl' Jasprit Bumrah During Australia Test Series? Sunil Gavaskar Says "Can't Blame..."

Jasprit Bumrah was easily the top performer for India as they slumped to a 1-3 Test series defeat in Australia. However, the team management came under a lot of criticism for 'overbowling' the star pacer as he ended up bowling 151.2 overs in the series. The stress was so bad that he suffered back spasms and was unable to bowl in the final Test match in Sydney. While fans were not happy with how much Bumrah bowled against Australia, legendary India captain Sunil Gavaskar believes that he was the reason that India could compete in the matches and as a result, he said that it will not be fair to blame the team management to pursue with their most effective weapon during the Test series.

“I think they did what was best for the team, because without him, India would not have been in any position in the series. And therefore, when you have a bowler, who's taking the wickets, you tend to overbowl him to an extent and that is totally understandable. I don't think we can blame the team management for this because they and Bumrah were only looking to do what was good for the team at that particular point in time,” Gavaskar told India Today.

“Yes, they would have. Look, it's a back injury. Bumrah is a very, very dedicated cricketer. And so I think even if he had been a little bit able to bowl, he would have come out and bowled. Therefore, I was praying overnight that, he could maybe come and bowl just four or five overs with the new ball. And I knew that India would not be able to set Australia a target of more than 190 and 200. So if he could have come in bowl, four or five overs at the start, then that would have made a big difference,” Gavaskar added.

However, Gavaskar did point out that things go extremely difficult for Bumrah during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne where he had to bowl eight to nine spells in the second innings.

“I think what really took the load for him was the fourth day in Melbourne, where he bowled eight to nine different spells of three to four overs. And I think that really took a toll on his body. And there was actually a video of him saying to Rohit Sharma, ‘ab bass ho gaya', and which actually tells you that even for a man who loves bowling, who enjoys taking wickets for India, the load had just got a little too much,” Gavaskar added.

Topics mentioned in this article

Jasprit Bumrah Steven Smith India Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team Australia vs India 2024/25 Cricket