The debate over whether Jasprit Bumrah should miss the 4th Test against England in Manchester has put workload management back in the spotlight. Before the series, India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, said that Bumrah would only play in three of the five Tests on the England tour. After playing two, Bumrah is set to play in only one of the remaining two matches. The question is whether that’s the best move, with India down 2-1 in the series.
Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh thinks workload management is a recent concept. Workload management is a new thing. After the IPL started, people said they would bowl 24 balls per match and train accordingly. Back in the day, workload meant fitness. Players used to play five-match series. But if someone is worried about getting injured, they need to be careful, said Harbhajan Singh.
Harbhajan called Bumrah an honest cricketer who will do what his body allows. He also said that the pacer bowled too much in Australia, which led to injuries.
Jasprit is a very honest cricketer. If he feels good, he’ll bowl a 10-over spell. He did that in Australia and got injured. His action puts a lot of stress on his body because he has a short run-up and bowls at high speed. If he’s fit, he should play all 5 Tests. India will win the series if he does. Any team would say they don’t want to face Bumrah, he added.
Bhajji also thinks spinner Kuldeep Yadav should be in India’s team instead of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Kuldeep should play. England likes to play a certain way, but they won’t be able to do that against Kuldeep. He could be a mystery bowler against them. You need to take out one batter from the team. If it were up to me, I would drop Nitish Reddy and bring in Kuldeep, said Harbhajan.
Harbhajan also said that the team should have supported B Sai Sudharsan at No. 3 instead of Karun Nair.
I would have stuck with Sai Sudharsan. I wouldn’t have dropped him after just one game. You gave him a chance at No. 3 over Karun Nair, and you should have kept him there for at least three matches. He’s a great player and the team should back him. You dropped him after playing him over Karun. Now it seems like you want to drop Karun too in the next game. This just messes things up, he finished.