Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif blasted Jasprit Bumrah's critics and even warned them to think carefully before saying anything bad about the speedster. This comes after the 31-year-old has been under criticism since the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England where he missed two Tests out of five as part of his workload management. Not just fans but even some former cricketers were critical of Bumrah, accusing him of 'picking and choosing' his matches.
Kaif was having none of the criticsm around Bumrah and highlighted that the latter has won several games for India single-handedly through his bowling effort. He further stated that the speedster is nothing short of a gem for the Indian team, who has the capability to turn the match on its head.
“Open your mouth carefully because you mentioned that whatever matches we played in England, we lost when he (Jasprit Bumrah) played. You better look at how many matches he has played and India won them, go and find out that as well, regardless of the format. When he plays, how many times does he give match-winning performances? Go and find that stat as well. Bumrah is a promising diamond of India. You don’t report him. There are no stains on him," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Kaif feels Bumrah will contribute well in Asia Cup
The former batter also backed Bumrah to perform well in Asia Cup 2025 and even predicted that the latter will have no problem in bowling his quota of 4 overs in every match he will play in the tournament. He also advised the selectors to only rest the speedster when up against a significantly weaker team.
“I already said that Bumrah might not be seen playing long in Tests, but in white-ball cricket, if India comes in the [Asia Cup] final, then he might play seven games. He will bowl 28 overs, and I am speaking about a two or three-week-long tournament. There is no problem in bowling 28 overs; he will get time to recover. You can rest him in one odd match against Oman or weaker teams. After workload management and a break, he will be used. I think he won’t face any issues in bowling four overs. You need Bumrah in T20 because he can change the course of the game with his bowling,” Kaif added.
Meanwhile, this will be the first time that Bumrah will be seen featuring for India in T20Is since the 2024 T20 World Cup. The pacer had shifted his focus to red-ball cricket following the tournament last year and thus had missed multiple assignments for the Men in Blue in the format.