Deep Dasgupta, who used to keep wickets and bat for India, feels the team made a mistake by saying Jasprit Bumrah would only play in three of the recent Test matches against England. The series ended in a 2-2 tie and was named the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series.
Before the Indian team left for England, Ajit Agarkar, the chief selector, and Gautam Gambhir, the head coach, said Bumrah wouldn’t play more than three Test matches. They said this was to manage how much he plays, especially since he hurt his back in the Sydney Test against Australia in January.
Dasgupta said, India should not have said that Bumrah would only play three Test matches before the series even started. They could have decided whether he would play as needed, depending on how he felt physically and what was happening in the series. So, India could have avoided saying that beforehand.
Even though India manages Bumrah by giving him enough rest and letting him play in big games, Dasgupta questions if this is the best way to do things.
He asked if only making him available for some games is a good idea. Dasgupta thinks it might be better to keep him ready for all the big matches and then make sure he can play every game. Then if he gets injured or his body needs a break, that’s a different story. But deciding beforehand that he’s only available for a certain number of games might not be the best approach.
Bumrah didn’t play in the fifth Test at The Oval and left the team before the second day of play.
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In Bumrah’s place, Prasidh Krishna played well, taking four wickets in each innings for a total of 8-188 in the match.
Though Krishna was trolled on social media for not playing well in the first two Tests at Headingley and Edgbaston, he finished the series on a high with his performance at The Oval. Bumrah’s workload was managed after he hurt his back in the Sydney Test against Australia in January.
This was explained by Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir before the team left for England. They said it was important to protect him from further injury by limiting his appearances. This was part of a bigger plan to keep key players in top shape for big games, considering the physicality of Test cricket. The management team had to balance Bumrah’s need for match practice with the risk of aggravating his injury, a decision that raised a lot of debate among fans and experts.
