“Not in favour of bowlers picking and choosing Test matches”: Jasprit Bumrah’s workload strategy angers former player

Samira Vishwas

Tezzbuzz|18-07-2025

Overview:

He commented in the wake of Bumrah missing the second Test despite a long break after the series opener.

Former India player Dilip Vengsarkar is not pleased with India’s workload management strategy, particularly after Jasprit Bumrah was rested from the second Test against England. He mentioned that unless a player is injured, there is no justification to allow him to skip a match.

In an interview with RevSportz, Vengsarkar agreed that Bumrah is a world-class bowler but spoke against the idea of bowlers picking and choosing matches. He commented in the wake of Bumrah missing the second Test despite a long break after the series opener. Although he played in the third Test, there is still suspense about his availability for the Old Trafford game.

“I am not in favour of bowlers picking and choosing matches in Test cricket. If you are fit, you should play all the Tests for your country,” Vengsarkar said. “Bumrah is a world-class bowler and he can win matches for his team. But once your are playing in a bilateral series, you should play all the matches. You can’t select games,” he said.

Vengsarkar suggested that this policy of resting players wouldn’t have worked during his time. He was surprised after Bumrah didn’t compete in the second Test despite a break between Test matches.

“Playing for India is important. If you are not fit, don’t play any game. He had a long break after the first Test but still missed the second game, which was not acceptable. It many be acceptable to Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar,” he added.