In the nine years since he made his ODI debut in Sydney, Jasprit Bumrah has played just 89 ODIs. To put that into some perspective, Irfan Pathan played 72 in the three years (2004-06) when he was considered India’s great pace-bowling hope. While that’s a reflection of how the bilateral ODI is now international cricket’s unwanted stepchild, it also indicates how few teams now bother with the notion of easing their top stars into major events.
From the time he caught the eye as the quirkiest of white-ball specialists, Bumrah was viewed as an X-factor for big-ticket events. He played in the 2017 Champions Trophy, when Pakistan shocked India in the final, and was an integral part of the World Cup XI in both 2019 and 2023. Between those two competitions, Bumrah played just 20 ODIs, picking up a serious injury and undergoing surgery.
Now, seven months after playing a pivotal role in India’s T20 World Cup triumph, Bumrah is back to square one. It goes without saying that India would desperately want him to spearhead the Champions Trophy campaign, but is the risk worth it? Whichever way you slice it, the Champions Trophy is the least important of cricket’s global events. India will defend their T20 World Cup crown on home soil in a year’s time, and the 50-over World Cup – the Holy Grail for cricketers of Bumrah’s generation, who watched their biggest heroes win it in 2011 – is in southern Africa in late 2027.
There is also the World Test Championship (WTC), the only major trophy to elude India. India were cruising towards a third straight final in the competition before the wheels came off last October. If they are to make it back to the summit clash in 2027, Bumrah will have a huge role to play in the rebuild that starts in England this summer.
And make no mistake, that is India’s biggest test in the next WTC cycle. While no one will take victory for granted in home series against Australia and South Africa – especially after the New Zealand debacle – it’s the away assignments that often trip teams up. India have seldom thrived in New Zealand, but it’s the five Tests in England at the start of the cycle that will set the tone for what follows. It doesn’t need repeating that India have won just a single series there in Bumrah’s lifetime, back when even Virat Kohli was an Under-19 unknown (2007).
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A setback during the Champions Trophy, and Bumrah will almost certainly miss that England tour. He gives so much of himself each time he comes on to bowl that the injuries he goes down with are usually serious ones. An Indian team in transition simply cannot afford to lose him for the bigger tasks that lie ahead.
Rushing back a celebrated player from injury has almost never ended well. David Beckham may have scored a penalty to knock Argentina out in the 2002 World Cup, but the metatarsal fracture he had barely recovered from clearly impacted his overall performance. The same was the case with Wayne Rooney in 2006.
Cricket fans across the border don’t need reminding how often Shoaib Akhtar bowled telling spells and then limped off. Fast bowlers aren’t beasts of burden, and unfortunately, modern-day itineraries treat them as such.
A team can also do without the constant will-he-won’t-he rumours in this age of breaking news. Towards the end of his career, Dale Steyn’s injury woes upstaged his bowling and became an unwanted distraction for teammates. Whether it is a notable landmark or a legend’s body breaking down, the last thing a dressing room wants is individual feats or struggles casting a shadow over the collective.
India have won a T20I series and an ODI one against an England team that set the standard in white-ball cricket until not long ago. And they did it without Bumrah. Instead of Doomsday predictions, maybe it’s time to get behind the replacements and not rush the recovery of Indian cricket’s crown jewel.
Also Read: With or without Bumrah, bench strength gives India Champions Trophy edge