'Make sure we don't overburden him and overuse him': Ex-India cricketer bats for cautious workload management of Jasprit Bumrah

Former India cricketer Abhishek Nayar doesn't want Jasprit Bumrah to be India's captain in all three formats of the game after the right-arm fast bowler made a winning start to his captaincy career in T20Is on August 18 (Friday).

India Today

• Sat • 19 Aug 2023

Former India cricketer Abhishek Nayar doesn't want Jasprit Bumrah to be India's captain in all three formats of the game after the right-arm fast bowler made a winning start to his captaincy career in T20Is on August 18 (Friday). Nayar underlined the stringent workload of a bowler that only increases significantly if turns out to be the captain of the team. The ex-India cricketer cited Australia captain Pat Cummins' example and spoke about how taxing the job of captaincy can be on a bowler.

"It depends on his fitness. For a fast bowler to lead, we saw that with Pat Cummins in the Ashes. I think for you to bowl, play all formats and then lead, it can sometimes be a bit taxing, which is why we see batters taking over the mantle. Like they say, batting is an easier job," Nayar said on Jio Cinema.

Bumrah made his captaincy debut for India in 2022 when Rohit Sharma was out injured and the right-arm pacer was tasked to lead the team against England in a one-off Test against England in Birmingham. Nayar hinted that Bumrah being the captain pushed himself a little more in that game that ultimately had an adverse affect on his back.

"If we look at the Birmingham Test (in 2022), he bowled very long spells. I think in that (match), the number of overs that he bowled was the inception of his back going for a toss because as a bowler, you constantly want to win games. So you tend to push yourself a bit more," said Nayar.

Nayar advocated a vigilant use of Bumrah and underlined the importance of the pacer's workload management as he an outright match-winner for India across formats.

"You can't have Jasprit Bumrah get injured in the process of doing that. For T20Is, makes sense. For longer formats… makes sense but I would just say 'save him and keep him for important tournaments' and make sure we don't overburden him and overuse him. Let him enjoy his game because captaincy doesn't let you enjoy your game," he added.