Jasprit Bumrah Fires Back at Ex-Indian Cricketer with 4-Word Response Over “Inaccurate” Workload Management Claims  

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Kaif engage in a tense discussion over the bowler's new look bowling strategy.

Jasprit Bumrah Fires Back at Ex-Indian Cricketer with 4-Word Response Over “Inaccurate” Workload Management Claims  

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Kaif (Image via Mathrubhumi English)

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India’s success in the ongoing Asia Cup is a much talked about topic. In every department, the team has looked a far better side than any of its counterparts in the competition. However, around this success, the team has tried a few different things in this Asia Cup, and one can expect the team to stick by it for the upcoming 2026 T20 World Cup as well.

The team had a fixed opening combination of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson prior to the Asia Cup. However, for the ongoing tournament, the team has decided to go with a combination of Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma, leaving Samson down the order.

There is a major change in their bowling strategies too in this Asia Cup. Jasprit Bumrah, who usually has a set pattern of bowling one over in the power play, one somewhere in the middle and two in the death overs, is now doing something completely different.

India has taken on the aggressive option, making the ace bowler bowl three out of his four overs in the powerplay itself, leaving just one for the back end. Many experts feel this is an aggressive option, and it restricts the opposition from stealing the powerplay. However, former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has a different thought behind the entire approach, which he expressed on social media.

Bumrah under Rohit would generally bowl overs 1, 13, 17, 19. Under Surya, in Asia cup, he bowled a three-overs spell at the start. To avoid injury, Bumrah these days, prefers to bowl while his body is warmed up. 1 over of Bumrah in the remaining 14 overs is a huge relief for batters, against stronger teams at World Cup, this could hurt India.

Mohammad Kaif wrote via X

In his analysis, Kaif feels that Bumrah, who has been injury prone in the recent few years, is trying to preserve and protect his body and thus the change. However, Bumrah was quick to reply to this statement and gave a fiery reply to the former Indian batter.

Inaccurate before inaccurate again (thumbs up emoticon).

Jasprit Bumrah replied

The ace bowler was as clinical with response as he is with his bowling. Kaif had earlier also made predictions about Bumrah soon retiring from Test cricket, and fans suspect that the ‘inaccurate before’ part of Bumrah’s tweet had something to do with that prediction.

Bumrah disagrees with Kaif’s opinion this time around too as he has different opinion on the change made in his bowling strategies. The bowler has not had the best of Asia Cups with a few batters getting under his skin. However, with India making it to the big final and taking on Pakistan for the third time in the tournament, one would expect the champion bowler to bounce back.

Former Indian All rounder not happy with Jasprit Bumrah’s selection for West Indies Test matches

With the Asia Cup coming to an end this week, the Indian team will look forward to their next assignment, which is the home Test series against the West Indies. The men from the Caribbean Islands will be coming over for the first time since 2018 and would look to exploit India’s fragility in home conditions in the recent past.

The Indian team for the series was announced recently, and Jasprit Bumrah, who played just 3 out of the 5 Test matches in England owing to workload, was also named in the squad. However, this inclusion didn’t sit well with former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who felt otherwise.

Irfan Pathan not impressed with Jasprit Bumrah's selection for the West Indies series.
Jasprit Bumrah and Irfan Pathan (via Cricket Addictor)

It seems like a missed opportunity not to play a young fast bowler in these two Tests, but that’s the team’s current direction. If I were a selector or manager, I would have surely tried to give a young fast bowler an opportunity, focusing on their development, not just quick results. Selectors could have utilised this series to give proper rest to Bumrah and groom a young fast bowler, something India must prioritize for a long term vision.

Irfan Pathan said via his YouTube channel

Pathan believes that India could have explored other fast bowling options around the country. Bumrah has been injury prone and his inability to play back to back Test matches is a concern for India when the tour overseas.

In Indian conditions, Bumrah comes across as a little less effective as the pitches that don’t offer real bounce and are more suited for spinners don’t help the fast bowlers. It will be interesting to see if Bumrah plays both the Test matches or India swap amongst the squad to give him just a game. With India having a few away SENA country tours in the next couple of years, a fit Bumrah would be a massive boost for the side.

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