Kaif said that under Rohit Sharma, Bumrah used to spread out his overs in the innings but now he bowls a three-over spell in the six-over Powerplay, leaving just one over in the remaining 14 overs.
In yet another twist to the controversy surrounding India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's workload management, former India player Mohammad Kaif on Thursday pointed out that the injury-prone pacer has been consistently made bowl most of his overs inside the Powerplay by captain Suryakumar Yadav in the ongoing Asia Cup, a strategy which could backfire while playing against top teams at the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Kaif said that under Rohit Sharma, Bumrah used to spread out his overs in the innings but now he bowls a three-over spell in the six-over Powerplay, leaving just one over in the remaining 14 overs.
“Bumrah under Rohit would generally bowl overs 1, 13, 17, 19. Under Surya, in Asia cup, he bowled a three-overs spell at the start. To avoid injury, Bumrah these days, prefers to bowl while his body is warmed up. 1 over of Bumrah in the remaining 14 overs is a huge relief for batters, against stronger teams at World Cup, this could hurt India,” Kaif posted on 'X'.
The observation, however, did not go down well with Bumrah, who responded to Kaif by saying, "Inaccurate before inaccurate again.'
In the Asia Cup, Bumrah has been largely ineffective, especially against Pakistan in the Super 4 match, where he was hammered for 45 runs at an economy rate of 11.20 while going wicketless.
He has claimed five wickets in the tournament and is currently 12th in the bowling charts headed by teammate Kuldeep Yadav, who has 12 scalps.
Recently, Kaif had sparked speculation over Bumrah's future in Test cricket, suggesting that he could be the next senior player to step away from the longest format following Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
“Looking at how things are, I won’t be surprised if Bumrah decides to retire from Test cricket soon. Virat, Rohit, and Ashwin have already moved on, and Bumrah might follow,” Kaif remarked. “I sincerely hope I’m wrong, but he just doesn’t look comfortable out there. The passion is clearly there, but his body seems to be giving up,” he said in a video shared via his 'X' handle.
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