According to AB De Villiers, Bumrah’s rest in a series like this is a dubious decision that can be the result of poor management. Jasprit Bumrah, India’s top bowler, will only play in three of the five Test matches during the current England trip. But after the team’s loss in the first Test, former South African captain AB de Villiers has questioned the Indian management’s choice.
Bumrah’s availability would be crucial for India because the conditions in England are quite conducive to seam bowling. The speedster will only participate in three Test matches in this five-match series, despite playing for the Mumbai Indians for almost the entire IPL season. Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of India, affirmed the rotation strategy and stated that it was implemented to control Bumrah’s workload.
India’s over-reliance on Bumrah was exposed when England won by five wickets in the first game of the series at Headingley. The remainder of the bowling unit did not apply any pressure, even though he picked a fifer in the first innings. Bumrah’s predicament was likened by AB de Villiers to the way South Africa handled Dale Steyn’s workload while he was playing.
He is currently perhaps the best bowler in the world across all formats. I think Test cricket is the best version of the game, but it’s really hard to know how to rest him. And I believe that this Test series would have been the best way to prepare him for each of the five Test matches.
We used to do that with Dale (Steyn). To a certain extent, depending on the rankings at the time, New Zealand should rest him in less significant T20 and ODI series in order to prepare him for the major Test series away from home against Australia, England, and India. In a video posted to his YouTube page, De Villiers stated.
Team India must effectively manage him in some way: AB de Villiers
The former Proteas skipper even said that the Indian system may have made a poor decision or being mismanaged. He also emphasised the significance of giving tests precedence over limited-overs formats and noted that the medical advice might have affected the choice.
So, I’m not sure if it was poor management or maybe since he just recovered from an injury, he kind of thought of the IPL as a warm-up. Perhaps he went to the surgeon, who informed him that he was not allowed to participate in the five Test matches. In the end, it’s up to Team India to effectively manage him, so you have to respect that,” he continued.
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