Keeping him away from home Tests has been an integral aspect of India’s workload management and planning around the phenomena that is Jasprit Bumrah. The selectors have been mindful of their No.1 speedster’s needs and have mostly looked to keep him fresh in a heavily demanding cricket calendar. Back in October 2019, India surprisingly selected […]
Keeping him away from home Tests has been an integral aspect of India’s workload management and planning around the phenomena that is Jasprit Bumrah. The selectors have been mindful of their No.1 speedster’s needs and have mostly looked to keep him fresh in a heavily demanding cricket calendar.
Back in October 2019, India surprisingly selected Bumrah for the Test series versus South Africa before a lower back injury ruled him out. The selectors then had to push their premier fast-bowler into a couple of intermittent Tests out of four played against England last year because of the absence of Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav.
That changed immediately after Umesh was available for India’s next home series last November against New Zealand in the backdrop of two major assignments in England for the WTC final and Pataudi Trophy, and UAE for the T20 World Cup. Such a scenario has been a norm with Bumrah. Since his debut in January 2018, the ace quick has played 24 of India’s 27 away Tests but has skipped as many as 12 of India’s 16 home Tests.
The underlining motive has been physical. Ensuring Jasprit Bumrah is ready to unleash his wrath consistently over long overseas Test series, with back to back matches, has been the selectors’ top-most priority. Built with an unorthodox action that sees his upper body take most of the load after minimum strides to the crease, Bumrah has been very fortunate with injuries. But the decision-makers have left nothing to fate in making sure he does the heavy loading only where the Test team desperately need him.
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Only 4 of Jasprit Bumrah’s 29 Tests have been played in India.
An Indian attack can’t do without Bumrah on foreign soil. But it has managed to assert dominance in home conditions. The daunting presence of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja aside, in Shami and Umesh, India have had two exceptional fast-bowlers for familiar shores. While Shami has been skillful enough to take his Test wickets at 21.28 in home conditions, Umesh, the enforcer, has relished the presence of Shami, Ashwin and Jadeja enough to bag his home scalps at 20.44 per piece since 2017.
With their eye-catching numbers in India, Shami and Umesh have not only contributed immensely to the team’s success but have also played an indirect role in keeping Jasprit Bumrah away from injuries, manage his fatigue with timely rests between the two overseas assignments. The value of these breaks has only multifold in the pandemic times, where consistently shifting bubbles has worn down multiple players and dented their games. Even a bonafide great like Virat Kohli is averaging 28.03 since the start of 2020.
The bowling era with tough pitches and sustained pressure at the other end has helped pacers and spinners nullify the bubble fatigue to some extent. But it would’ve been more likely for a Jasprit Bumrah to break down if he were to play every Test match that gets arranged in India’s suffocating all-format itinerary.
Essentially India have taken care of the physical and mental side of things. But is it time to get a little more tactical, too? For playing Bumrah a pair of Tests against a weak opposition in Sri Lanka felt like a meaningless exercise at the end and only hurt India’s succession planning towards the next cycle of overseas tours.
It took the 28-year-old quick only 37 overs across four innings to bag his 10 wickets at an average of just 9. These wickets came in two easy Indian victories and further fuelled Bumrah’s outstanding Test match record. But they did little of long-term relevance to the side. In an ideal scenario, India could’ve earned their wickets at a heavier cost but with a young Mohammed Siraj finding more game time or a Prasidh Krishna making his Test debut.
It was a perfect opportunity for India to spread the net wide and give Prasidh, their long-identified Test match prospect, the nod and see where he stands with his developing control and consistency, less than two years before the next major overseas trip. With no “A” tours around, more than the Ranji Trophy, it is these low-key assignments that would give the selectors and the management a clearer picture of their fast-bowling depth.
Despite an extended gap between the end of the South African tour and the start of this series against Sri Lanka, there was a strong case to continue resting Bumrah and let Siraj, Krishna get more overs under their belt in rotation with senior pros Umesh and Shami, with the ultimate aim being to keep them ready for the next overseas cycle. With Ishant Sharma gone, this is even more relevant.
It’s also important to recognise and understand that a Jasprit Bumrah need not be assigned some captaincy tag for him to know that he is a leader within his group. The idea that Bumrah must play two home Tests against Sri Lanka to gain captaincy experience as Rohit Sharma’s deputy is flawed and downplays the bigger motive of keeping the spearhead fresh while beefing up the pace stocks.
There is no bigger act of leadership and owning responsibility than successfully relishing the ball in hand and taking wickets when the team needs. In a team full of experienced Test, first-class cricketers and IPL stalwarts, Bumrah doesn’t need to play some on and off-field guardian, who is telling them what to do and what not. Just running in and taking wickets and sharing inputs from mid-off is enough. Thinking of Bumrah as a captaincy material is not so tactically wise, for it would only make it tougher to rest him in the future. Why, even Australia should’ve double-checked their call to appoint Pat Cummins as Test skipper.
Despite the WTC putting home and away Tests on an equal paddle, those who follow Indian cricket closely would know, they are not the same thing. Overseas results matter more to Indian cricket and that is true without attaching any sense of insignificance to home Test matches. India have won at home and will continue to do so without Jasprit Bumrah. It’s about how long can you can sustain this unrelenting force at his very best in foreign conditions, where you need him around for the next 8-10 years.
