Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has advocated for Jasprit Bumrah to play every Test match, saying the premier speedster has just played in 34 per cent of the games that the Indian team has played in the last three years. There is immense pressure on the No.1 ranked Test bowler’s body and he has already bowled 54 overs in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Bumrah was the pick of the Indian bowlers in Perth and Adelaide, taking 12 wickets. His five-wicket haul in the first innings of the Perth Test helped India register an emphatic 295-run win. However, Bumrah did not find much support from Harshit Rana and Mohammed Siraj at the Adelaide Oval and hence the debate has started on whether the premier pacer has enough backup.
The 31-year-old has already played six matches out of India’s last seven and he only missed the Mumbai Test against New Zealand. However, Manjrekar believes that Indian cricket looks out for Bumrah and he is well ‘taken care of’.
“I play him every Test match purely because Indian cricket takes care of Bumrah. And I’ve said this before as well, the number is etched in my head. 34% of international matches that India have played in the last three years is what Bumrah has played. Only 34% of what Indian cricket has played. So he’s well rested. And this is when you need, because these are the series that will be remembered forever,” Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.
“Give him a break in one of those bilaterals that we forget 48 hours later,” he added.
Earlier, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had also stated that Bumrah should play all the remaining Tests against Australia unless he is injured. While speaking to India Today, Gavaskar said that Bumrah is the best-performing bowler hence there is no reason to give him rest.
