Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
Jasprit Bumrah's critics lambasted, hypocrisy called out: 'Instead of hammering him for choosing matches...'
1983 World Cup winner Balvinder Singh Sandhu launched a passionate defence for Jasprit Bumrah, calling out his critics and questioning their hypocrisy.
1983 World Cup winner Balvinder Singh Sandhu launched a passionate defence in favour of Jasprit Bumrah after the latter faced criticism for picking and choosing matches owing to workload management. The 31-year-old pacer, who is the No.1-ranked speedster in Tests, played just three Tests in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England. Bumrah returned with 17 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls, with one at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground. However, India did not win a single Test Bumrah featured in; the two victories came when he wasn't in the lineup.
Looking at how Mohammed Siraj bowled in all five Tests, dishing out more than 185 overs, questions were raised about Bumrah. Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar had also written a column for the Hindustan Times, urging the management to look past him if he is not available for all the games.
The decision to have Bumrah feature in just three games was taken before the beginning of the five-match series against England. The pacer played all five Tests against Australia; however, he went down in the final game at Sydney owing to a back spasm, leading to him being ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy and the first few games for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season.
Sadhu, who worked closely with Bumrah prior to his international debut, ripped into the pacer's critics, questioning their hypocrisy for not calling out the batters when they take a rest and only reserving their judgment for the pacers.
“In these seven years, how many batsmen have gone without injury breaks? How many have opted out of a series quietly? Nobody really questions them. But when it comes to a fast bowler, everyone seems ready to pounce. The truth is — fast bowling is brutal," Sandhu wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
“I was stunned when I saw these numbers. Jasprit Bumrah has had an average rest of just 3.2 days for every playing day across the last seven years, while Mohammed Siraj has had 3.5 days, and Mohammed Shami, 3.7. And remember — both Bumrah and Shami have also missed matches because of injuries. That only makes these statistics even more telling," he added.
Bumrah available for Asia Cup
Bumrah is slated to return to action in the upcoming eight-team Asia Cup, beginning September 9 in the United Arab Emirates. India will begin their campaign on September 10 against the UAE. The much-anticipated Group A match between India and Pakistan will be played on September 14.
Sandhu believes that Bumrah should not be questioned for picking and choosing, as his action and body require a lot of load, and it is not easy for the pacer to play day in and day out.
“Compare Bumrah to legends like Kapil Dev, Wasim Akram, Richard Hadlee, or Malcolm Marshall. They all had smoother biomechanics and long careers, but even they weren’t spared from injuries. Research has shown that about 40 per cent of a pacer’s speed comes from the momentum of the run-up. Bumrah, with his slow run-up, puts extra load on his body to generate that pace," Sandhu wrote.
“So, instead of hammering these bowlers for “choosing matches” let’s enjoy watching them perform whenever they can. Enjoy the skills, the execution, the moments they create,” he added.
