“Indian cricket must not adjust for Jasprit Bumrah, Bumrah must”: Sanjay Manjrekar

Team India pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s workload management has once again sparked debate among fans, experts, and former cricketers. He played only three out of the five Tests in England, as part of a pre-decided plan, and India went on to draw the series 2-2.

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has now shared his strong views on the issue. Writing in his column for Hindustan Times, Manjrekar argued that India should not adjust its plans for Bumrah. Instead, he said, it should be the other way around.

Manjrekar first reflected on the overall quality of the series. 

“Great series for fans, yes great result for Indian cricket lovers yes, great advertisement for Test cricket yes, but what about quality? Was the cricket of the highest quality? No, it wasn’t. For starters, sorry to burst the bubble, it has to be one of the weakest bowling attacks from both sides that I have seen in a series featuring two main stream teams. The one bowler with great skills and ability had a bizarre approach to playing in this series even before it began, so bowling greatness or excellence was seen very sporadically over 175 hours of Test cricket,” he wrote.

Manjrekar pointed out how India’s victories came in matches without Bumrah. 

“The second point I will make is this, that the game will always show us the mirror however much we try and gloss over things. It was poetic justice that the two Tests India won were two matches Bumrah did not play. This should embolden the Indian selectors to make some hard choices when it comes to big-name players. This series has been a great lesson to them and to us too, the two Tests victories India achieved did not feature Virat (Kohli), (Cheteshwar) Pujara, Rohit (Sharma), (Mohammed) Shami and Bumrah too! It reminded us of the eternal truth of sport and life, no one, however great, is indispensable. And this is how India must handle Bumrah.”

Manjrekar, while calling himself a fan of Bumrah, stressed that the pacer must take responsibility if he wants to have a lasting impact in Test cricket.

“As for Bumrah, of whom I am a fan, if he really wants to serve Indian Test cricket, longevity and durability is an imperative for him, it’s after all the true test of a great athlete is to still turn up when not 100% fit and deliver. Indian cricket must not adjust for Bumrah, Bumrah must. That is, if he wants to,” he further added.

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