Chetan Sharma backs Bumrah over playing only three tests in England series

Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah may have drawn criticism for playing only three Tests during the series against England to manage his workload, but former BCCI chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma has backed the bowler, saying players should go by the physios’ advice as they are the “better judges”.

The injury-prone Bumrah played the first, third and fourth Tests in the Anderson-Tendulkar five-match series, skipping two matches with Mohammed Siraj leading the pace-bowling attack.

Sharma, himself a former pace bowler, said it was akin to a patient having to follow the 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.”

“If our physios is telling a player to manage workload, I think we should listen to them because they are the better judges,” said Sharma on the sidelines of the country’s public service broadcaster Prasar Bharati signing a deal with London-based cricket analytics company CricViz on Monday for the telecast of 104 episodes of “The Great Indian Cricket Show” on Doordarshan.

Sharma, who forged a potent partnership with Kapil Dev for nearly half-a-decade and went on to take more than 125 wickets in Tests and ODIs before becoming the chairman of selectors, added that the team’s performance in the England Test series gave him confidence that it will win the Asia Cup, which begins in the UAE next month.

“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.

“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,” said Sharma after the event, which also had the likes of Madan Lal, a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning side, and former India players Murali Kartik and Aakash Chopra and Prasar Bharati Chairman Navneet Kumar Sehgal.

On whether Test skipper Shubman Gill, who smashed four centuries during the drawn Test series against England recently, should be included in the Asia Cup side to be led by charismatic batter Syuryakumar Yadav, Sharma said, India should select its best possible 15-member squad for the continental showpiece.

“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. 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,” he added.