'I wonder how the BCCI is agreeing to all this': Jasprit Bumrah's workload management dismissed as 'nonsense'

Despite being India's No. 1 bowler across formats over the last couple of years, if not more, Jasprit Bumrah, through no fault of his, has received some harsh criticism. It was always made clear to the public and experts that, given his history of injuries, let alone career-threatening ones, Bumrah was going to play not more than three Tests in the Test series against England for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. As it turns out, the series ended 2-2, with India's only two wins being the matches in which Bumrah was rested. Furthermore, in Bumrah's absence, Mohammed Siraj more than stepped up, finishing with five-wicket hauls in each game – at Edgbaston and the Oval, and hence, given the heat is now on Bumrah as the fast bowler's decision to 'pick and choose' matches has landed him in hot water. Is Jasprit Bumrah right in picking and choosing matches?(Reuters)

For all you know, the decision to play three Tests and skip the remaining two wasn't even Bumrah's – it could well have been head coach Gautam Gambhir or the BCCI chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, or the physios to have taken the call – but Bumrah is the one facing most of the flak. The latest to have taken offence to India's culture of workload management is former India all-rounder and BCCI selector Sandeep Patil, who dispels the theory.

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"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?" Patil told Mid-day.

"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."

Sunil Gavaskar isn't a fan of workload management either

Not too long ago, the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, too, had expressed his frustration over 'workload management', reiterating Patil's point that playing for the country is an honour, where picking and choosing simply has scope. To add to the debate, a PTI report had stated that BCCI is not happy with Bumrah's limited participation on the tour of England. The point everyone seems to be missing here is that Bumrah's injury-prone body is not part of workload management. Patil, however, refers to it as 'nonsense' because he believes modern-day players are much more well-equipped than they were.

"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."

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