Jasprit Bumrah offered fresh advice on workload management: 'Our physios are the better judges'

Jasprit Bumrah (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Jasprit Bumrah press conference: Hits out at critics, on Lord's Honours Boards, ball controversy

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Former BCCI chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma has supported Jasprit Bumrah 's decision to play only three Tests in the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar series against England. The decision was made to manage Bumrah's workload, despite facing criticism.Bumrah, who has been prone to injuries, participated in the first, third, and fourth Tests while Mohammed Siraj led the pace attack in the remaining matches.Sharma, a former pace bowler himself, compared the situation to following a doctor's advice."If the medical team advises, if the doctor tells me that I have to take antibiotics, then I have to consume them," Sharma said in "The Great Indian Cricket Show" on Doordarshan."If our physios are telling a player to manage workload, I think we should listen to them because they are the better judges."The comments were made at an event where Prasar Bharati, the country's public service broadcaster, signed a deal with London-based cricket analytics company.Sharma, who had a successful bowling partnership with Kapil Dev and claimed over 125 wickets in Tests and ODIs, expressed confidence in India's chances at the upcoming Asia Cup in the UAE."I know that whoever is selected will be the best for the country. And the kind of cricket we are playing right now, I'm really proud with the way India played in England," he added."And I'm very confident that we are definitely going to win the Asia Cup (to be played in T20 format) because soon after that we are playing the T20 World Cup (in 2026) in India."It's a very big thing when you are playing (the World Cup) in you own backyard. If the intent is right, the results will also be good."The event was attended by notable cricket personalities including Madan Lal from the 1983 World Cup-winning team, former India players Murali Kartik and Aakash Chopra, along with Prasar Bharati Chairman Navneet Kumar Sehgal.When asked about including Test captain Shubman Gill, who scored four centuries in the drawn England series, in the Asia Cup squad under Suryakumar Yadav's leadership, Sharma emphasised the need for selecting the best possible team."Look, that is up to the selectors what they see. My opinion does not matter because I am no longer the chairman (of selectors), so I will only say that the best possible team should be selected," he stated."We have such good cricketers that not just the top-15 but even if the top-30 are selected, they are all very good. Really proud of them."

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