Should Jasprit Bumrah be allowed to pick and choose which Test matches he plays for India? Now, before anyone accuses the writer of undervaluing Jasprit Bumrah or being insensitive toward the 31-year-old pacer, who has constantly battled back injuries.Jasprit Bumrah is undoubtedly one of India’s most crucial bowlers. However, a surprising trend has emerged in India’s Test match performance, showing a higher win rate in his absence. Here’s exploring the statistics behind this phenomenon and its potential causes.
Yes, Jasprit Bumrah is rare! Not just in Indian cricket, but globally. How often do we see a bowler who can consistently take the pitch out of the equation Remember the first Test between India and England of the recently concluded series at Headingley, Leeds. Indian bowlers, including the eventual hero of the series, Mohammed Siraj, were leaking runs like the annoying tap in our kitchen that has endured multiple plumbing fixes but refuses to do its job.
In the first innings of that match, Praisdh Krishna, who would go on to ride a beautiful redemption arc in the series, gave away runs at an economy of 6.40, while Siraj went at 4.50. Shardul Thakur got six overs and was clobbered at a rate of 6.30. And Jasprit Bumrah He gave away runs at just 3.40 and took five wickets as well. This, on a pitch where 364 was the lowest score across four completed innings, and England successfully chased down 372 to take a 1-0 lead.
Jasprit Bumrah: A bowler with no competition
First match of a highly-anticipated series without Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin, and the senior statesman set the tone from the very start. That’s Bumrah for you. He doesn’t need helpful conditions or a lot of support from the other end. The ball speaks his language when he is delivering it, and the batters shiver at his sight.
For those who love data, sample this. Among the bowlers to have played more than 30 Tests, Bumrah has the third-best strike after Kagiso Rabada (38.98) and Dale Steyn (42.38). The Gujarat pacer has the best average of 19.82 for bowlers to have played more than 33 Tests.
Now, that’s unparalleled. It shows class over a sustained period. So, why are we even hinting at the fact that Bumrah should be sidelined in Test cricket? Not because the legendary Sunil Gavaskar compared workload management and the agony of an Indian Army soldier at the border. We don’t seek to compare apples and oranges, or even Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah.
Jasprit Bumrah : A fast bowler super star for India
What Siraj did in the five-match series against England, bowling 1113 balls in 185.3 overs, emerging as the only bowler to play in all matches across both teams, and bowling at least 361 deliveries more than anyone, was beyond belief. That he was also the highest wicket-taker with 23 scalps, and the final delivery of the series, bowled by him to Gus Atkinson, sealing the Oval match, was the fifth quickest by the Hyderabad cricketer, shows his insane ability to squeeze out every possible drop of energy from his body.
Similarly, Jasprit Bumrah has had multiple such away Test tours in his career that began in 2018. The most recent being the Australian tour, which the workhorse ended as the highest wicket-taker with 32 scalps in five matches, captaining in two of them. But we all remember how it ended: Jasprit Bumrah going for scans and not bowling in the final innings. The back-spasm issue later turned into a serious injury, forcing the talisman to miss the victorious Champions Trophy 2025 campaign.
Jasprit Bumrah, who underwent back surgery in March 2023, no longer has the body that was once one of his greatest strengths when he burst onto the international scene in 2016. This was bound to happen. His slingy action, the packed international calendar, and the intensity of the Indian Premier League were always likely to take a toll, and they did. As a result, a decision was made for Jasprit Bumrah to play only three of the five Tests in England. Head coach Gautam Gambhir announced it before India’s departure.
And in England, it turned out to be exactly the same. Jasprit Bumrah played three and missed out on two, including the last one, a must-win game at the Oval, reportedly due to a knee injury. But whenever he played, it wasn’t without a few questions.
Jasprit Bumrah could not turn up at Edgbaston despite a seven-day gap between the first and second Test. When he played in his third Test, the fourth of the series at Manchester, Bumrah looked a pale shadow of himself, conceding 100 or more runs in a Test innings for the first time. At Old Trafford in Manchester, only 0.5% of the deliveries that he bowled in the first innings were above 140kph.
Jasprit Bumrah is all-in or a no-go. Watching him toil like an ordinary bowler made me realise that perhaps it’s time for India to manage their star pacer differently and Former Indian batting coach and Selector Sanjay Bangar has hinted the same guidelines for managing Jasprit Bumrah’s workload in upcomng future .
“Jasprit Bumrah should be handled with care” – exclaims Sanjay Bangar referring to his absence in 2 Tests
Sanjay Bangar weighed in on ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah and how Team India must handle him moving forward in Test cricket. The 31-year old played in only three out of five Tests against England due to workload management, given his injury concerns. Incidentally, India won both the Tests at Edgbaston and The Oval despite the speedster finishing with 14 wickets in the other three matches at an average of 26.
“Jasprit Bumrah is invaluable to the T20 setup of the current team and the World Cup is just around the corner. So the team management making the decisions will also have a mid-term view of how to utilize him across formats, which is not the case with Mohammed Siraj,” said Bangar.
“If it’s a five-Test series and Bumrah is going to be available for three Tests, going forward, the learning for the team management would be to play him three in a row and then rest him totally,” he added.
Further Sanjay Bangar continued,
“But since they won’t encounter such a scenario for the rest of this WTC cycle, whatever workload management has had to happen with Jasprit Bumrah has already happened. So this question won’t come up till the end of this WTC cycle. He also needn’t play all the T20 matches in the build-up to the World Cup.”
In the England series, Jasprit Bumrah played the first,third and fourth Test while missing the Second and the Fifth Test. With Jasprit Bumrah in the team, India has won 20 of the 48 matches. Interestingly, without him, they have also won 20 matches, but in a significantly smaller number of games. This suggests a shift in responsibility and performance among other bowlers when Jasprit Bumrah is not playing.
The difference in losses is stark. India has lost 23 matches when Jasprit Bumrah is in the playing XI. However, without him, the team has only suffered 6 losses, indicating a more resilient and balanced attack in his absence. The most telling statistic is the win rate. When Jasprit Bumrah is in the team, India’s win rate stands at 41.67%. Without him, the win rate dramatically increases to 71.43%. This highlights a fascinating paradox in the team’s performance.
While Jasprit Bumrah is a match-winner, his presence can sometimes lead to an over-reliance on him. The rest of the bowlers might subconsciously wait for him to create opportunities, leading to a flatter attack. In his absence, the responsibility is shared, liberating the other bowlers to take charge.
The higher win rate without Bumrah is also a testament to the growth of other bowlers. Since 2022, players like Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, and others have stepped up, delivering stellar performances in key series abroad. This depth in the bowling attack has proven to be a major asset for India.
Jasprit Bumrah’s frequent injuries have kept him out of action, and during those times, the team has showcased its ability to win without him. His absence from key tournaments like the 2022 T20 World Cup, 2023 WTC Final, and 2025 Champions Trophy has provided opportunities for others to shine, further solidifying the team’s bench strength.
There are serious question marks over Bumrah’s longevity at the moment, and it could only get worse with growing age and fresh injuries. In such a case, giving him an option to play a few Test matches of a series can’t be the best option.
Not because we don’t need Bumrah, but perhaps because we need him more elsewhere. The T20 World Cup is coming up next year, and the ODI World Cup follows in 2027. India have long dreamt of building a streak of ICC trophy wins and establishing themselves as a dominant force. Bumrah could be the key to that enviable dream. Surely, the BCCI knows it.
It would allow India to firm up a regular bowling attack in Tests, because let’s be honest, constant chopping and changing hampers rhythm and team plans. A few fans have also said that allowing one member of the team to pick and choose games can set a bad precedent, but if that’s the case, the team management would be the first to act.
What we clearly know is that for the first time, Jasprit Bumrah is looking mortal. But if managed well, he can still take India to major trophy wins, which is what he deserves.
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