Jasprit Bumrah's Exclusion From The Arjuna Award Nomination List Leaves BCCI Officials Miffed

Jasprit Bumrah has been the bedrock of the bowling unit across all three formats of the game in the past few years.

And, as a result, a plethora of accolades have galore for the ‘once in a generation’ Indian fast bowler. But surprisingly, for the second year in a row, the Gujarat fast bowler has missed out from one of the top government honors- Arjuna Award.

Last year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India [BCCI] had recommended the likes of Poonam Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah for the coveted award. However, it was only Ravindra Jadeja and Poonam Yadav who received the top-honor.

Also Read: New Zealand Offers To Host IPL 2020

Jasprit Bumrah no longer in the Arjuna Award nomination list

This year too the BCCI had asked Jasprit Bumrah to fill out the Arjuna Award form but the apex cricketing body in the country has dropped Bumrah’s name.

Bumrah’s fellow pacer Ishant Sharma, off-spin all-rounder Deepti Sharma and opener Shikhar Dhawan’s name have been recommended for the Arjuna Award and, according to a report in Sportskeeda, this decision hasn’t really gone well with some BCCI officials.

“Surprisingly, Jasprit Bumrah is not in the mix. When there is no intention of honouring the candidate, why should that cricketer be told to fill the Arjuna Award while nominating names,” the source was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda.

“Jasprit Bumrah is doing so much for the country for the last four years or so. And yet, there is no recognition from anyone. Of course, Ishant Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are seniors, but you can’t be recommending names for the sake of it. The board should also ensure that their names are taken seriously by the concerned screening committee,” the source added.

Jasprit Bumrah, who made his Test debut in 2018, has claimed 68 wickets in 14 games at an average of 20.3, including five five-wicket-hauls and a har-trick. Besides that, he had also claimed 104 wickets in 64 ODI games and 59 scalps from 50 T20Is.

Also Read: MS Dhoni Achieved Big Heights Coming From Small Village: Waqar Younis