‘It was poetic justice that the two Tests India won were two matches Bumrah did not play’
As debates around Jasprit Bumrah’s workload continue, Sanjay Manjrekar has taken a firm stance — arguing that the onus lies on the pacer to adapt, not the system.
In his Hindustan Times column, the former cricketer pointed out that India’s resilience without Bumrah in England underlined a timeless sporting truth: no player is indispensable.
Bumrah, 31, featured in only three of the five Tests during India’s recent series against England, with the team management making it clear before the tour that he would not play all five matches. Having already played three of the first four, many expected him to be part of the decider at The Oval, but he was instead rested and then released from the squad.
While India went on to draw the series 2–2, Bumrah’s limited involvement has divided opinion among fans and experts. Mohammed Azharuddin and others have been critical, and now Manjrekar has weighed in strongly.
“The game will always show us the mirror, however much we try and gloss over things. It was poetic justice that the two Tests India won were two matches Bumrah did not play,” wrote Manjrekar in his column for Hindustan Times.
“This should embolden the Indian selectors to make some hard choices when it comes to big-name players. This series has been a great lesson to them and to us too — the two Tests victories India achieved did not feature Virat (Kohli), (Cheteshwar) Pujara, Rohit (Sharma), (Mohammed) Shami and Bumrah too! It reminded us of the eternal truth of sport and life: no one, however great, is indispensable. And this is how India must handle Bumrah.”
“Can’t be your frontline pick if he can’t play more than two in a row”
Manjrekar further argued that Bumrah should not be considered India’s frontline pick if he cannot consistently play back-to-back matches.
“If he cannot play more than two matches in a row or sometimes even more than one, he must not be your frontline pick,” Manjrekar said.
“Players who are match fit, eager, keen to play and perform should be picked any day for me over a highly skilled player. It will motivate such enthusiastic players even more. This is not an idealistic position to take, but it’s the right one for the long-term health of a team sport.”
Manjrekar also pointed out that in this series, India’s pace attack did not collapse without Bumrah.
“In this series, Akash Deep & Siraj replicated the Bumrah impact in the two wins. Of course, this is not likely to become a pattern, but it should give the selectors the guts to take hard calls on big-name players, just as they do with Kuldeep Yadav.”
“The true test of a great athlete…”
The former India batter emphasised that durability and longevity are key if Bumrah wants to remain India’s spearhead in Test cricket for years to come.
“As for Bumrah, of whom I am a fan, if he really wants to serve Indian Test cricket, longevity and durability is an imperative for him. After all, the true test of a great athlete is to still turn up when not 100% fit and deliver,” Manjrekar wrote.
“Indian cricket must not adjust for Bumrah, Bumrah must. That is, if he wants to. By making some tough choices or working even harder on his fitness, this fitness bar can be raised to whatever levels one wants, like all fast bowling greats have done before him.”
© 2025