Talismanic India pacer Jasprit Bumrah came under a lot of criticism during the five-match England Test tour earlier in June-July where he limited himself to playing only three games. While it was a call by the BCCI medical team and the management, Bumrah wasn’t spared the criticism when he didn’t turn up for the series finale with India trailing 1-2.
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Many former cricketers and pundits also highlighted that playing for country should come before anything else and that a stern call should be taken surrounding the workload issue.
However, 1983 World Cup winner Balwinder Sandhu has now slammed those critics with statistical data points and biomechanics, suggesting Bumrah’s rest and workload management is more than justified.
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Balwinder cited that Jasprit Bumrah has an average of 3.2 rest days in the last seven years – the least compared to Mohammed Siraj’s 3.5 and Mohammed Shami’s 3.7.
The former India cricketer also calculated that out of 2555 days, Bumrah has played matches on 807 days (across formats and IPL, including pre-match training days), bowling a total of 2220.3 overs. Not just Boom, Sandhu highlighted the pressure is equally bad for Siraj and Shami too (731 days and 1764.2 overs & 683 days and 1652 overs respectively).
Writing in his column for the MidDay, Sandhu highlighted, “When you break this down — (seven years x 365 days) 2555 days divided by total match-days) — it shows that the average rest days for the pacers is very less. And mind you — these numbers don’t even include domestic matches and practice days. If we added first-class or other domestic games, the workload would be much heavier. I didn’t have that data which means, we’re only looking at half the picture.”
Given Bumrah’s unique action and hyperextension, it puts a lot of pressure on his back. Sandhu also echoed on the same lines that the biomechanics of Bumrah’s action makes it a challenge and that it’s a miracle he has continued to deliver this long.
Balwinder Sandhu added, “I worked with Bumrah at the National Cricket Academy, before he even broke into the Indian team. When I studied his bowling action and biomechanics on video back then, to be honest, I didn’t think he’d last this long — given his strenuous action and the workload demands of a fast bowler. But what stood out was his attitude, discipline, and dedication.”
Bumrah suffers from a recurring back injury which resurfaced for the first time earlier this year after he underwent surgery in 2023. During the Border Gavaskar Trophy, he had to leave the final game midway due to a back stress which also kept him out of the Champions Trophy 2025 and the initial stages of the IPL 2025.
