Jasprit Bumrah being rested for the fourth Test against England appears to have been one of the most brainless decisions taken by the Indian think-tank in recent times. Watching the prosaic home bowling attack in the first innings of the fourth Test – where debutant Akash Deep’s burst with the new red cherry did result in an adrenaline rush for the fans – what panned out was a reminder of how much Bumrah was missed.
The way England scored in the first innings in Ranchi, to put on 353 runs, allowed them to seize the initiative. Had Bumrah been bowling, this would not have happened for sure. There is a certain zing which Bumrah bowls with. He has played 35 Tests since his debut in the purest format of cricket, which still keeps people engrossed.
And, here, bowlers like Bumrah are not just part of the cast, they are capable of changing the script with crucial wickets or simply playing on the minds of the rival batters. Would Joe Root have scored that well-crafted ton in the first innings had Bumrah been in action? Maybe not, for Bumrah has that knack of getting vital breakthroughs.
The way Bumrah bowled in the Vizag Test was sensational. Conditions were far from conducive. It was hot and humid, which usually does not suit the fast bowlers. We have read all along that speedsters love a track with a green tinge and cooler conditions where there can be movement – in the air and lateral.
Bumrah is the master of swing, reverse swing, and the lethal yorker which knows how to spreadeagle these electronic stumps. Not only does a batter losing his wicket cost the team – if these modern, flash stumps break, they cost a bomb. After Vizag, Bumrah may have been “less effective” in the Rajkot Test. The Ffact of the matter is that Bumrah’s presence was stressful for the English batters.
All of a sudden, when he did not travel with the team to Ranchi and instead went back to Ahmedabad, it was a head-scratching decision. Was this bravado on part of the team management, where coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma preferred to maintain silence as if during a fasting period called “maun vrat”?
If workload management is a phrase and has to be used, it cannot be a thumb rule. For a fast bowler to bowl his heart out in Hyderabad, Vizag and Rajkot and claim 17 wickets in three tests was proof that he was potent and needed to be persisted with. Not only that, there was a lengthy break between the second and third games.
All of a sudden, it seems MBA graduates and not former cricketers are making decisions on workload. Bowling over 80.5 overs in Test cricket is not taxing, if it’s across three games, with a long break between two of them. There was never a case where Bumrah was holding his back or looking stiff, at any point in the first three Tests.
Yes, Bumrah’s absence presented a nice chance for Akash to make a promising debut. But was Akash a terror or able to psyche out the English batters? No, not at all. That, only Bumrah can do, as he is cunning, has rich experience and his “jerky” action actually rattles the batters.
For all those who have talked of his recovering from a back surgery, he has done the rehab and stayed fit. The team management knows how players are handled. If at all there have been physical breakdowns, they have been from Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul, who have taken breaks due to fitness concerns. Mind you, Rahul has not even kept wickets, as was being touted at one stage before the series.
This team has someone like R Ashwin, who flew back home and returned during a Test when his mother took ill. That was a decision which will be loved forever, as pain in an emotional sense is harder to handle. Bumrah is in Ahmedabad, a rest which he apparently never asked for.
Irrespective of the outcome in the Ranchi Test, the BCCI selectors have done a grave injustice by resting Bumrah for Ranchi. If workload management has to be a policy which is meaningful, give him a break in the Indian Premier League (IPL) where wear and tear is more due to hectic travel post night matches.
For the record, when initial loose talk on social media broke out after the second Test, Bumrah came on the record and said that he loves bowling in Tests. He has been a selfless cricketer, someone in the mould of a Kapil Dev who would bowl, bat and then take great catches. Even English legend Ian Botham did that, and so did fast bowlers from across the border Pakistan. Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were not rested just like that.
Stuart Broad has rightly expressed shock at how India have bungled through his post on X, where he has said: “Bumrah ‘rested’- can’t understand it. 8 overs in his last innings. Handed initiative back to England.”
India have lost the plot in the fourth Test. So, more than blaming Rohit Sharma, there must be an explanation as to who it was that made the call to rest Bumrah. Did Ajit Agarkar, chairman of selection committee and himself once a fast bowler, jump the gun and ask for Bumrah to be rested? Indian fans need to know and maybe even respond to Broad’s meaningful post on X.
Had India rocked England in Ranchi, Bumrah could just have gone to Dharamsala for sightseeing. Maybe now, he will have to work hard in conditions which will suit him.
IND vs ENG || 4th Test || Pre Match Discussion || LIVE https://t.co/PMWm99NuXk
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) February 25, 2024