Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif raised questions over Jasprit Bumrah being rested for the second T20I against New Zealand. While India did win the match comprehensively by 7 wickets, Bumrah's absence was evident as the bowlers ended up conceding 208 runs to the visitors. It was quite surprising that the 32-year-old was rested for the match as he hadn't participated in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand and had only played in opening game of the T20I assignment.
Kaif's verdict on Bumrah's workload
The selectors have managed Bumrah's workload well heading into the 2026 T20 World Cup, but Kaif feels that they went a little overboard by resting the pacer for the second T20I. He remarked that Arshdeep Singh should have been rested instead as he has been featuring regularly for the Men in Blue.
“Rest for what? What workload? Did he just come back after playing a lot? He has already come after taking proper rest. No, no, this thing just doesn’t make sense to me. If you want to give rest, give rest to Arshdeep Singh. If you want to bring in Harshit Rana, if Axar Patel is injured and you need batting at number eight, then rest Arshdeep and bring in Bumrah. I mean, why are we even comparing here? There is no comparison at all," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Kaif also didn't buy into the idea of Bumrah being rested due to Harshit Rana's batting prowess. With Axar Patel injured, Harshit was brought into the fray as he provides the team with even more batting depth. However, Kaif feels that despite the bowling combination getting changed, Bumrah should have made it to the playing XI.
“If Bumrah was left out because of a combination, saying that you need batting at number eight, then that is wrong. No power in the world can keep Bumrah out because of team combination. The team will adjust the combination, but Bumrah will play in the XI," he added.
Bumrah's absence in India's recent assignments
Meanwhile, Bumrah hasn't featured in a lot of games when it comes to India's previous few T20I assignments. Not only has he been out of action from ODIs since 2023, he only featured in three matches out of five against South Africa in December. He was rested for another match against New Zealand and it isn't guaranteed if he will feature in all the three remaining games in the T20I series.