Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has said that Jasprit Bumrah should be fully used during matches instead of being restricted too much for workload reasons. Pathan believes that holding back India’s best bowler at crucial moments can affect the team’s chances of winning. He added that recovery and workload management should be done between matches.
Bumrah has been carefully managed after his back injury with the team often limiting his overs in Tests to protect him from injury. However, Pathan feels it can reduce India’s impact on the game. He said that during gaps of several days between Tests, there is enough time for Bumrah to rest and recover.
The debate over Jasprit Bumrah’s workload continues because of his importance to India’s bowling attack. Irfan Pathan stressed that the focus should be on using him well in matches instead of restricting his spells too much.
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"Push Him When It Matters" - Irfan Pathan on Jasprit Bumrah
Pathan lavished praise on Bumrah, calling him "a treasure" and highlighting his extraordinary skill set.
"One thing is that a guy like Jasprit Bumrah is very unique. They are like treasure with the kind of skill they have. I was the first one to say that the kind of skill he has is the best skill we have ever had. If you talk about the history of Indian cricket, he is the guy who can bowl inswing, outswing, bouncer, dipping slow one, yorker with a new ball et cetera. He started with inswing. He is now doing outswing with a beautiful wrist position, and the kind of record he has is outstanding," Pathan said as quoted to Revsportz.
He specifically referred to the Lord’s Test, where he felt India could have gained an advantage by giving Bumrah longer spells.
"I’m talking about the Lord’s Test match and Joe Root and Ben Duckett had a partnership. It was very-very important for captain Shubman Gill that his No. 1 bowler bowls 1-2 overs, because if he does that, there’s a high chance for him (Root) to get out to Bumrah, because he had done it before and could have done it again. It could also have been possible that he did not get the wicket even after bowling those two overs, but you must take the chances," he added.
"My thing was that, why not take chances and get restricted to those five overs? In the same game, Ben Stokes bowled a spell of nine overs on the fourth day, being an all-rounder. Jasprit Bumrah goes to fine leg so there is recovery in different areas."
Pathan made it clear he is not questioning Bumrah’s attitude.
"He gets proper space and I’m not raising a question on Bumrah’s attitude. No, I will not be a fool to do that, because he is someone who gives Test cricket priority, especially after the back injury, which a lot of other guys have not given."
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Workload Management Shouldn’t Limit Performance: Irfan Pathan
Pathan reiterated that while managing Bumrah’s workload is necessary, it should be done between matches rather than during critical spells.
"What I’m trying to say is once you are there on the field, it is like a war and you go all out. Now if Indian cricket decides that’s how they will manage him, then they can, but I don’t think desired results will be received until and unless we push things at the time of importance like the Lord’s Test. If we keep managing the workload during the game and keep following the recovery structure, then how will we get the result?"
"By all means, give every bit of importance to Bumrah because there is not a second one like him, but workload management and recovery should be something to do between the Test matches when there was almost nine days of gap. When someone is playing three out of five Test matches, then restricting yourself within the spells as well will make things difficult for the team. I can guarantee that this won’t fetch desired result for the team," Pathan concluded.
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