Sunil Gavaskar has intervened in the ongoing discussion regarding Jasprit Bumrah’s competitive load, insisting that India’s foremost fast bowler ought not to be regarded as inerasable.
Bumrah featured in three of the five Tests versus England this past summer, claiming five-wicket hauls in two of those encounters. However, his omission from the final match at The Oval re-animated the question of whether India’s support staff has calibrated his allocations accurately.
In his latest column for Mid-Day, Gavaskar reiterated the cardinal principle that no individual transcends the sport. “No player is irreplaceable. Hence, it is critical that the selectors now determine the precise juncture at which Jasprit Bumrah ought to take the field. The discourse surrounding his participation in the recently concluded England tour is already extensive,” he concluded.
Sunil Gavaskar remarked that had Jasprit Bumrah been fit, he ought to have been selected. “The Indian think tank cited considerations of Bumrah’s long-term health as the reason for his omission. Here the distinction between what serves the athlete best and what serves Indian cricket best has, to my eye, narrowed,” Gavaskar noted. “India’s triumph only reaffirmed the eternal truth: the machinery of the sport functions with or without any individual. It will continue to tour, test and triumph.”
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Since his extended absence due to a lumbar stress fracture that sidelined him for four months, Bumrah’s red and white-ball exertions have been precisely monitored. During the last series in England, he bowled close to 120 overs, capturing five wickets in each of two Tests and cementing India’s success. His withdrawal from the Edgbaston decider has thus revived interest in his medical advisers and processes.
Looking forward, Bumrah has signalled his readiness for the Asia Cup, which will strictly be played in the T20 format. The constraint of 24 legal deliveries per innings should mitigate cumulative spinal demand. It will be his first white-ball assignment since the 2024 T20 World Cup, where he removed South African top order in the Bridgetown final, steering Rohit Sharma’s squad to the title.
Bumrah’s statistical record continues to be persuasive. In seventy T20 internationals he has taken eighty-nine wickets at an average of 17.74, metrics that reinforce his centrality to India’s limited-overs planning even amid continued examination of his red-ball usage.
