McGrath uneasy with Jasprit Bumrah's career trajectory with Team India: ‘To limit himself to Test cricket…'

Hindustan Times

3 days ago

Jasprit Bumrah has been the axis of India's bowling might for years, but his availability has become a quietly growing concern. Despite starting the current five-match Test series in England with a statement spell at Headingley that featured a five-wicket haul, Bumrah sat out the second Test at Edgbaston, returned for the third and fourth Tests, and was unavailable for the decider at The Oval. India's Jasprit Bumrah looks on (Action Images via Reuters)
Even though the Indian bowlers had an entire fifth day off during the fourth Test at Old Trafford, Bumrah wasn't available for selection and was released from the squad ahead of Day 2 in the final match. The team management maintained that this was a call taken in respect of Bumrah's fitness and past injury record, including a setback suffered in Sydney earlier this year.
This cautious handling follows a pattern in Bumrah's recent career. He missed the Champions Trophy, eased into full-throttle action through the IPL, and was inducted into the Test squad with a capped workload. India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate insisted the decision was made in "good faith", based on Bumrah's bowling loads across the series.
But as the discussions around workload management grow louder, so do the questions on how long India can afford to hold back their best weapon, especially in a series this intense.
McGrath on Bumrah
Legendary Australian pacer Glenn McGrath, speaking to The Indian Express, weighed in on Bumrah's future and the challenge of balancing formats.
'You want your best bowler bowling. And he'll want to bowl all the time. If he's just bowling in short spells, then the batting team know they just can get through the three or four overs and then they're away,' McGrath said.
'So it depends a lot on the other bowlers. You need another group of fast bowlers coming through to balance it out so that he doesn't have to bowl long spells. You've got other bowlers bowling equally as well to carry the workload. You look at Bumrah, he's so effective in ODI and T20 cricket. To limit himself to Test cricket would be a shame. But, he's got to work out what's best for him.'
Bumrah has sparsely participated in limited-overs bilateral series. The last time Bumrah was a part of India's white-ball bilateral series was September 2023, when Australia toured India ahead of the ODI World Cup.
With no red-ball assignments scheduled immediately after the England series, Bumrah is expected to return to the T20 fold during the Asia Cup in September, if fully fit.