Jasprit Bumrah's Move SLAMMED As 'Nonsense' : 'Wondering How BCCI Agreeing To All This'

Jasprit Bumrah's Move SLAMMED As 'Nonsense' : 'Wondering How BCCI Agreeing To All This' Photo : AP

India recently played out a 2-2 series against England, which can be regarded as one of their most significant overseas Test series in history. This series saw the return of Jasprit Bumrah in Team India after he was ruled out due to a back injury late last year vs Australia. In the series, he played just thee out of the five games, owing to workload management issues, but sill ended up picking 14 wickets including two five-wicket hauls. Many legends including Sunil Gavaskar has spoken out against workload management, and now former India batter Sandeep Patil has lashed out against it.

In an interaction with Mid-Day, Sandeep Patil slammed the concept of workload management as nonsense. He said that during his time players carried on despite injuries, and were happy playing for their country. He also questioned why physios are dictating terms of selection.

"Workload management is nonsense. You are either fit or unfit, and that’s how we [his selection committee] picked teams. We did not entertain this workload business. Modern-day players have all the facilities. We did not have such rehab programmes in our playing days. At times, we carried on playing despite injuries. Let’s just say we were happy playing for the country… no naatak."

"I wonder how the BCCI is agreeing to all this. Is the physio more important than the captain, than the head coach? What about selectors? Are we to expect that the physio will be sitting in selection committee meetings now. Will he decide?"

When You Are Picked, You Die For Your Country

Sandeep Patil further said that players should be willing to die for their country if they are picked in the squad. He gave the examples of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, who would bat for five days and bowl on most days of a Test match. He also said that he too played the very next match in Australia after he suffered a head injury in 1981.

"When you are picked for your country, you die for your country. You are a warrior. I have seen Sunil Gavaskar bat on all five days of a match, I’ve seen Kapil Dev bowl on most days of a Test match, and even bowl to us in the nets. They never asked for breaks, never complained, and their careers extended to 16-plus years. I didn’t miss the next Test after my head injury in Australia in 1981."

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