Former Indian bowler Balvinder Singh Sandhu has slammed Jasprit Bumrah’s critics after the pacer was questioned for managing his workload on the England tour. Bumrah played three out of the five Test matches against England and scalped 14 wickets at an average of 26.
However, a lot of experts have questioned Bumrah for picking and choosing Test matches. Sandhu said why are batters not questioned for missing Test matches.
Sandhu wrote in his column for Mid-Day, “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.”
“Someone like Bumrah generates pace, not from a long run-up, but from sheer strength. And when you rely on strength, your muscles are bound to suffer wear and tear. 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.”
Bumrah has an incredible Test average of 19.82 in 48 Test matches, which makes him a modern great. Sandhu highlighted that Bumrah has had an average rest of 3.2 days after every match in the last seven years.
“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,” said Sandhu (via the aforementioned source).
“If we added first-class or other domestic games, the workload would be much heavier. I didn’t have that data which means, we’re only looking at half the picture. Thus, it’s easy to criticise these pacers who have carried the load for India over the years, but when you see the actual numbers, one realises how punishing the life of a fast bowler is.”
Bumrah will be seen in action in the upcoming Asia Cup.
