Published: Jun 30, 2025, 01:10 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 30, 2025, 01:10 PM (IST)
India is yet to play four more Test matches against England, having lost the first match at Headingley, giving England a 1-0 lead in the series. Jasprit Bumrah, who is regarded as the best pacer in the world and a key player for India, being available for only three out of the five Tests has come as a surprise and shock to many.
Bumrah, who played the entire Indian Premier League (IPL) season for Mumbai Indians, has been allotted only three Tests against England. India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has made it clear that Bumrah will be rested for matches considered less important to effectively manage his workload.
Former South Africa legendary batter AB de Villiers, who also had to manage the workload of Dale Steyn during their active days, isn’t happy with the team India’s management decision to make Bumrah play only three games out of five.
“He is probably the top bowler in the world in all formats right now. So, it’s very difficult to decide a way to rest him.
“But in my opinion, Test cricket is the ultimate form of the game. And this Test series probably would’ve been the one, in my opinion, to get him ready for all five Test matches.” De Villiers said on his Youtube channel.
De Villiers, citing Dale Steyn’s example, said Bumrah should have been rested during less important T20Is and ODIs. “That’s what we used to do with Dale (Steyn). Rest him in lesser important T20 and ODI series and get him ready for the big Test series against Australia, England, and India away from home… New Zealand to a certain extent, depending on the rankings at that time,” he explained.
The former Proteas skipper also said that this is complete “mismanagement” by the Indian team. “So, I don’t know if it was mismanagement or perhaps because he recently got back from injury, sort of saw the IPL as the warmup phase,” he said.
“Maybe, went to the surgeon, who let him know, ‘You can’t play the five Test matches.’ So, I mean you got to respect that, and at the end of the day, it’s up to Team India to sort of manage him well,” he added.
