- People closely following the fortunes of cricket like connoisseurs, experts, fans, ex-cricketers, and others must be wondering in disbelief as to why on earth did Team India management decided to rest ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah when the tourists are already down 0-1 in the ongoing five-match Test series in England. Without beating around the bush, let’s make it abundantly clear that any selection for a team sport like cricket must be undertaken by keeping the fitness aspect in mind. Every selected player is not only expected to be available for each of the scheduled matches but also be fit enough to don the India colours, furthering the cause of the team. The selection is always made based on the physical fitness of players to last the whole series.
PC: Sports Tak
- It must be mentioned here that the selectors completely faltered by choosing to select Jasprit Bumrah by grandiosely making an announcement that he will be playing only three Tests, keeping in mind the workload management. Now, workload management is the most abused word in the lexicon of sports, especially when it comes to cricket, as every Board nowadays wishes to manage their premier players’ workload. The major reason for that is the mushrooming of franchise-based T20 cricket tournaments around the world, where the lure of the lucre plays a significant role in attracting some of the marquee players to showcase their trade. Gone are the days when the sport used to be played during certain months. It’s played round the year now, you see.
PC: Hindustan Times
- Strangely, the Indian team management decided to rest Jasprit Bumrah from the second Test being played in Birmingham, even as the tourists look to level the series after the drubbing it received in the first Test at Leeds. The cricketing world is aware of what Bumrah, the premier bowler, brings to the table with his unique skillset, besting the best batsmen in business with panache. Cricket logic simply expected Bumrah to be included in the playing eleven, but the touring team decided to rest the bowler when his presence would have been crucial to nail the marauding home team. This is unfathomable. If the BCCI mandarins were so concerned about Bumrah’s workload management, he should have been advised to skip the IPL to be available for the England tour.
PC: The Indian Express
- Ask any past cricketers of repute, especially at the international level, and they would vouch in unison that a bowler must be bowling more overs to regain the fitness required to compete at the highest levels. This handle with care approach appears not only unprofessional but also sends out a wrong message that a player would be allowed to pick and choose matches to be played. Agreed, Bumrah is a great asset to the team, a once-in-a-generation bowler, and his services are required to be extended for several years. However, choosing to make the bowler sit through the most important Test, even though fit, must be viewed as something strange. Bumrah playing in the crucial Test would have helped Team India’s cause greatly.
