Veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane lauded Jasprit Bumrah for being upfront about his availability and prioritising the team’s needs over his own during the recently concluded Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy.
Bumrah featured in only three of the five Tests in England, a decision made before the tour in consultation with the medical team and the 31-year-old pacer himself.
“What I liked about the Bumrah situation was that he was very clear; he knew exactly what he wanted to do before the series. He said, ‘I’ll play the first one, I won’t play the second one, and then I’ll play the third’. That’s great clarity for a captain. It shows he has the courage to be upfront with the captain and management,” Rahane said on his YouTube channel.
“It also shows he is putting the team ahead of himself. Sometimes it’s not easy to do that when you are playing for India. As a player representing the country, it’s a tough call. Sometimes, players give the same message to the team and end up being dropped,” he added.
Rahane also felt Bumrah’s presence made England more cautious. “I think England were wary of Bumrah when he was playing; ‘Bazball’ didn’t come out to its full extent. When he wasn’t there, they played a bit more freely.”
He concluded by urging the management to manage Bumrah’s workload wisely: “It is important to use him properly; you have to give him the luxury to get the best out of him.”
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