File photo of Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma
India captain Rohit Sharma seemed to be hesitant in unleashing Jasprit Bumrah to the full extent as the team suffered a 10-wicket defeat against Australia. Bumrah was India’s most successful bowler in the match, yet there are some who felt that the pacer could’ve been used more. However, former India batter Mohammad Kaif has defended Rohit’s approach, saying Bumrah “is the only bowling India have”. Hence, Rohit couldn’t risk seeing him get injured at such a crucial junction of the series.
Many fans on social media complained that Rohit wasn’t giving longer spells to Bumrah in the pink-ball Test. Kaif feels Rohit isn’t in the capacity to give his marquee pacer long spells because of how dependent the team is on him.
“No need to panic that much, it’s just 1-1. It’s alright we’ve lost one Test, there is no need to behave like all is lost. The planning needs to be better; tactical moves need to come into play. Rohit was not up to the mark as captain. And of course, Jasprit Bumrah. You can’t give long spells to Bumrah. He’s the only bowler. I have never seen a team that depends on only one player. Ashwin is not playing, Jadeja is not playing. If Bumrah gets injured, you forget about the series. That’s why Rohit is giving him short spells,” Kaif said in a video shared on his social media handles.
Rohit form? Virat and Outside off deliveries? Bumrah Workload? Siraj Behaviour?
Australia v India, BGT Report Card#CricketWithKaif11 #bgt2024 pic.twitter.com/aHFSUkTrUP
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) December 9, 2024
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar revealed that Bumrah has played only 34% of the national team’s matches over the last three years. Kaif also explained the rationale behind Bumrah being protected to this extent. Kaif said that the team management is looking after Bumrah to such a large extent as it wants him to remain fit for the most important events.
“Bumrah is being looked after. Rohit Sharma has been told to take care of him, so that he stays fit. He shouldn’t break down as he is the lone pacer,” Kaif explained.
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