Bumrah claimed 5-83 in the first Test against England in Leeds
South Africa batting great and former captain AB De Villiers has advised the Indian team management to take the example of how the Proteas handled pace legend Dale Steyn’s workload while dealing with a prized bowler like Jasprit Bumrah.
Bumrah has hit the peak of his career, having claimed 77 wickets from 28 Test innings in the last two years at an outstanding average of 15.09. Even when India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia by 3-1, Bumrah was the best player of the series by a mile, claiming 32 wickets from just nine innings.
When he joined Mumbai Indians after four games in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, it inspired the five-time champions to bounce back from four defeats and win six matches in a row and make it to the playoffs.
Bumrah finished the tournament with 18 wickets from 12 matches at an average of 17 at a jaw-dropping economy of 6.67.
AUSA-W
–
INDA-W
–
AMR
140/3
SVL
139/9
Amaravati Royals beat Simhadri Vizag Lions by 7 wickets
TBW
41/0
KNK
37/7
Tungabhadra Warriors beat Kakinada Kings by 10 wickets (D/L) method
SVL
–
BVB
–
ROR
–
KNK
–
SIN-W
171/4
CAM-W
69/7
Singapore Womens beat Cambodia Women by 102 runs
SIN-W
33/2
CAM-W
32/8
Singapore Womens beat Cambodia Women by 8 wickets
ABF
–
BR
–
SKA
–
TKR
–
ABF
–
SLK
–
WDL
61/2
NDT
138/8
West Delhi Lions beat New Delhi Tigers by 15 runs (D/L) method
CDK
197/7
NDS
120/3
SDS
–
PD
–
SDSW
–
NDSW
–
SWE
200/5
HUN
198/2
Sweden beat Hungary by 5 wickets
HUN
128/5
NOR
129/1
Norway beat Hungary by 9 wickets
NOR
149/8
SWE
150/8
Sweden beat Norway by 2 wickets
HUN
98/6
SWE
99/3
Sweden beat Hungary by 7 wickets
NOR
–
SWE
–
SWE
–
HUN
–
NOR
–
HUN
–
JZ-W
80/5
LL-W
79/3
Jinx Zagreb Women beat Lavender Lionesses Women by 5 wickets
JZ-W
104/5
LL-W
82/4
Jinx Zagreb Women beat Lavender Lionesses Women by 22 runs
JZ-W
87/1
LL-W
86/3
Jinx Zagreb Women beat Lavender Lionesses Women by 9 wickets
JZ-W
83/2
LL-W
82/4
Jinx Zagreb Women beat Lavender Lionesses Women by 8 wickets
JZ-W
–
LL-W
–
JZ-W
–
LL-W
–
JZ-W
–
LL-W
–
MID
–
YOR
–
KENT
–
LAN
–
SOM
–
BB
–
NOR
–
SUSS
–
LEI
–
ESS
–
GLAM
–
NOT
–
WOR
–
GLO
–
BAN
–
IND
–
Match Called off
SBSCC
–
RTZ
69/7
KZK
–
PCR
–
KRMPS
–
NCMI
–
TCC
–
CEC-A
–
SML
127/5
GBM
93/0
Gulbarga Mystics beat Shivamogga Lions by 10 wickets (VJD method)
MYW
177/10
HBT
43/0
MGD
–
BNB
–
MYW
–
SML
–
MAT
172/6
MUT
173/0
Muscat Thunderers beat Majees Titans by 10 wickets
IAI
152/6
ROS
191/6
Royal Oman Stallions beat IAS Invincibles by 39 runs
RNC
0/0
YSG
120/10
IAI
–
MAT
–
ROS
–
MUT
–
SLGR
189/4
SLGY
166/8
SLC Greens beat SLC Greys by 23 runs
AUS
173/8
SA
172/7
Australia beat South Africa by 2 wickets
TRR
145/6
SOB
140/4
Trent Rockets won by 4 wickets
OVI
151/2
WEF
–
MAO
–
NOS
–
BIP
–
LOS
–
TRW-W
106/10
SBW-W
109/4
Southern Brave Women beat Trent Rockets Women by 6 wickets
OIW-W
150/5
WFW-W
111/10
Oval Invincibles Women beat Welsh Fire Women by 39 runs
MOW-W
–
NOS-W
–
BIP-W
–
LSW-W
–
MR-A
107/1
ACOM
106/9
Melbourne Renegades Academy beat Australian Capital Territory by 9 wickets
MS-A
231/4
HHA
227/3
Melbourne Stars Academy beat Hobart Hurricanes Academy by 6 wickets
PS
111/10
PSA
114/8
Perth Scorchers Academy beat Pakistan Shaheens by 2 wickets
BANA
186/6
NEP
154/7
Bangladesh A beat Nepal by 32 runs
CHK
–
AS-A
–
NTS
–
HHA
–
PSA
–
BANA
–
MEMA
–
KASS
–
Despite his heroics for franchise and country, Bumrah is also in a vulnerable situation due to his back injuries in recent times that needs Indian management to not overuse their premier pacer.
De Villiers suggested that it is better to play Bumrah in all the remaining four Tests of the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy against England and rest him for the white-ball series. He said that is what South Africa did with a gifted pace talent like Steyn who is South Africa’s highest wicket-taker in Tests with 439 wickets from 93 Tests.
“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. 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,” De Villiers said.
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It is unlikely that India will play Bumrah in all of the five Tests in the series, which also played a huge role in Shubman Gill being appointed the Test captain after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement.
Bumrah was out of the Champions Trophy 2025 in February and March due to a stress-related injury he suffered during the final Test in Australia.
“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. Maybe, went to the surgeon, who let him know, ‘You can’t play the five Test matches.’” De Villiers added.
Bumrah played the first Test at Headingley and claimed 5-83 in the first innings. The 31-year-old didn’t bowl a lot in the second innings as England won the match by five wickets. He, however, took part in an optional training session ahead of the second Test at Edgbaston beginning on July 2.
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