The spinner has been waiting for a while to hit peak form
Ever since Jasprit Bumrah has played just three of the five Tests in the drawn Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the discussion on workload management has caught fire.
Former players who had ended their careers a few decades before T20 cricket and jam-packed schedules had rubbished the idea. However, players who turned coaches and have personally worked with international players supported the idea and sympathised with Bumrah.
Bumrah being selected for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 squad has extended the discussion beyond its usual shelf life, but more currently-active players chiming in with their views.
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Aries Kollam Sailors beat Thrissur Titans by 8 wickets
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Among them is Gujarat Titans and Tamil Nadu all-rounder R Sai Kishore who has figured out a simple arithmetic to keep himself injury free.
Once a believer in the old-school way of ‘bowl till you drop,’ Sai Kishore had to rethink his time on the field after suffering a painful neck injury in April 2024.
The injury had reduced his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season to just five games and the recovery was painful.
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After two seasons as Tamil Nadu’s captain and a break-out IPL season in 2025 where he claimed 19 wickets from 15 matches, Sai Kishore also led Idream Tiruppur Tamizhans to their maiden Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL).
When asked about workload management, the left-armer spinner spoke about the importance of it for all bowlers.
“Bowling isn’t natural to the body. When you’re young, you don’t feel it. But as the body wears down, there’s only so much load it can handle. It’s basically about balance — how much the body can take versus how much you give it. For fast bowlers, it’s tougher because of the strain,” Sai Kishore in an interview with Sportstar.
Sai Kishore, who finally got his breakthrough in the IPL, said that he keeps a log of the overs he bowls in every innings and stops as soon as he hits his limit of 30 per innings or 60 in a red-ball match.
“Initially, I never bothered. I was old-school — just bowl until you drop. But after a neck injury, I realised I needed structure. Darren Veness, the Strength & Conditioning Coach at Gujarat Titans, really helped me understand the science behind it,” Sai Kishore said recalling his 2024 injury.
The 28-year-old is also not a fan of chasing the ‘feel’ of the rhythm in practice by over-bowling himself and then suffering with consequences during the match.
“You might already have bowled enough but still feel unsatisfied,” he said about bowling in excess of 70 to 80 overs in practice.
