Jasprit Bumrah Should Not Play Tests At Home, Says Former India Pacer

Jasprit Bumrah was almost unplayable for the West Indies batsmen when India toured the Caribbeans after the World Cup. After being rested for the ODI and the T20I series, the India pace spearhead hit the ground running in Tests. He blew away West Indies in both the Tests as India won the series 2-0.

In the second innings of the first Test, he picked up 5 for 7 before picking up a six-wicket haul including a hat-trick in the following Test. India will now be hoping that Jasprit Bumrah shows the same form in the upcoming three-match series against South Africa. But ahead of the series, former India pacer Chetan Sharma has said that India should consider resting Bumrah.

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The former bowler feels that India have enough firepower to win games in home and thus resting Jasprit Bumrah should not be a problem. Sharma, in fact, said that playing Bumrah at home would be a waste and India should not test him in familiar conditions.

“I think he should be rested (from Tests in India). We should not waste a talent like him. There’s a reason why he’s the best bowler in the world now, we shouldn’t test him in these conditions at all,” Sharma told Hindustan Times.

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India have a long home season lined up which also includes three Tests against South Africa and two against Bangladesh – both part of World Test Championships. Sharma said that focus should be on winning the points rather than showing that Bumrah is deadly on Indian pitches too.

“World Test Championship is going on and Bumrah is very important for India’s plans. There’s no need to prove it to the world that Bumrah can take wickets on Indian pitches. Ultimately we need to win and earn points,” Sharma added.

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Ever since making his Test debut in South Africa, Bumrah has missed only 3 Test matches due to injury. Despite playing 12 out of 15 Tests, Bumrah has bowled the second most overs – 451.5 – among all Indian bowlers, only 4 overs less than Mohammed Shami, who has played in all 15 Tests. Unlike others, Bumrah is also India’s leader in ODIs and T20Is. But the team-management has shown it is ready to handle Bumrah with care. Bumrah was rested for the recently-concluded T20I series against South Africa too.