It is likely that Jasprit Bumrah, the most successful Indian bowler on spinning pitches, will be rested for the next Test against England. The aim of the move is to ensure his longevity. This is a noble intention and there is no doubt about it. Given Bumrah’s history with injuries and his relevance to the Indian bowling attack, it is prudent to keep him fresh and give him a break every now and then so that he can continue to serve the country for a longtime. India was searching for an incisive fast bowler and found one in the form of Bumrah. It wasn’t by any design on the part of the board but more by accident. All is well and good but Indian team’s priorities are wrong.
Sheer volume of the games is too high
Let me try to elaborate. The volume of games these days is simply overwhelming. Just take the case of the ODI World Cup. Just 4 days later, the Indian team and the Australian team were involved in a series of absolutely meaningless and useless T20 games. Some Australian players, who were part of the ODI World Cup, did not even get proper time to celebrate a famous win. Indians on the otherhand, did not get the time to analyse what went wrong at the business end of a tournament that they dominated from the beginning. The board wanted to make money and because of that these players had to play additional games.
Hence, because of such stupid games, the workload management of the players must be taken seriously by the team management so that the decisive players can last for a longer period than they would if they went and played in every game. However, why is it that workload management and player health come into the equation only when they play for the nation? There are multiple such examples of players taking breaks while India is engaged in a series. Right from Rohit through Kohli and to Shami and Siraj, they have taken breaks from white-ball cricket.
The latest is Bumrah though we still do not know whether he will be rested for the 3rd Test. One thing is for certain, Bumrah will definitely miss one Test in the current series. Also, the case of Kohli is not available for the entire series for a mysterious reason. If he felt tired and unable to focus, he could have said so. Would he have done the same if IPL was on? Would Bumrah be alright with being rested in the IPL was on?
Workload management is not applicable during IPL
The IPL goes on for about 2.5 months. Every Indian player worth their salt is engaged in this tournament. Workload management is not even spoken about during this tournament. There are several instances of the Indian players turning up jaded in England in attempting to win the WTC Final or the ODI World Cup. The current captain, Rohit Sharma, just before the 2019 World Cup, when he was asked whether he would think of resting Bumrah during the IPL, considering how key Bumrah is to the team, Rohit blatantly refused to do so.
He wasn’t the captain of India at that point. He did not care about player management because he wasn’t the captain. Why is that important players like Bumrah, Kohli, Siraj, Jadeja, Shami, Rohit and quite a few others are required to play every game in the IPL, whereas, when they turn up for the country, they are at liberty to pick and choose the games they want to play?
Let us look at it for a moment. Once the England series is completed, India does not play any international game until June. All that it requires is for Bumrah to be at his best during the series and if he is injured during the IPL, so be it. He will still have 2 months to recover. I would not advocate for anyone to skip any game that involves the nation. However, leverage can be taken if the opponent is not that tough. Say a Sri Lanka or New Zealand or for that matter, even South Africa. When the opponent is tough, it is imperative that the Indian team plays with the best eleven.
The shelf life of a sportsperson is limited
I understand that money is important. More so for sportsmen and women because their career span is too short. They must make the most out of their time on the field. I endorse and support that completely. Almost every cricketer who has played for the nation and in the IPL must have made sufficient money to last them a couple of lifetime. As such, they are not really pressed for funds unless they make some horrible business decisions post retirement. Yet, they do not bat an eye lid whenever they want to take a break.
Wrapping up the Indian team’s priorities are wrong
This is exactly the reason Australian players must be respected. Starc, Cummins, Michael Clarke and a few others have always placed nation above franchise. Starc for a very longtime, did not even putforth his name in IPL because he wanted to concentrate on his Australian career. Cummins skipped last year’s IPL because of the challenges that he was faced with. India and Indian cricketers, I don’t know whether this will happen.
https://icricketcritique.com/the-pataudi-trophy/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-sweepstakes-that-india-missed/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-sweepstakes-that-india-missed-2/
https://icricketcritique.com/india-needs-improvement-despite-the-win/