Preserving a spearhead’s menace: why keeping Jasprit Bumrah healthy is Indian cricket’s chief priority Premium

Jasprit Bumrah's impact on Indian cricket, his injury concerns, and the need to manage his workload for longevity.

Unlike his precise deliveries, Jasprit Bumrah’s press conferences can be elaborate affairs. The Indian spearhead with an air of a headmaster speaks at a leisurely pace while giving voice to wide-ranging perspectives. After concluding a statement, he often offers a half-smile before moving on to the next query.

But on Wednesday (January 15), he posted a pithy line on X, formerly Twitter. And it read: “I know fake news is easy to spread but this made me laugh.” There was a smiley emoticon and a few more words, but the message was driven home, just like his yorkers zooming past wilting legs and flailing bats.

The import of his utterance was akin to a radio announcement about a cyclone crossing the coast without causing damage to life and property, at worst maybe knocking down a few coconut trees. There was an overwhelming sense of relief. Bumrah was reacting to a story doing the rounds about how he has been advised bed rest due to a bulge in his back.

Just like Sachin Tendulkar’s tennis-elbow in the past, Bumrah’s back is quite the rage in news circles. Currently, the world’s finest pace bowler is nursing a back injury suffered during the recent Sydney Test. While worst-possible scenarios are being trumped up, his social media post tried to quell these needless fires.

Obviously, more transparency from the BCCI would be appreciated as no official proclamation has been made. We just have Bumrah’s reaction for now. In hindsight, the injury seemed inevitable. Bearing the weight of the Indian attack, the pacer has been the pivot on which India’s fortunes rested during the recent tour Down Under.

Statistically, Bumrah bowled fewer overs (151.2) than Pat Cummins (167). But the Australian captain had the support of Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and partly Josh Hazlewood. Despite Mohammed Siraj’s 20 scalps, for Bumrah it was often a lonely road. He had to strike at will, choke the runs and always dispense hope. It was a burden too heavy to bear, physically and psychologically. Add to it a batting line-up that did not offer a cushion of runs, and the picture gets even more ghastly.

Australia prevailed 3-1 to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the five-Test series but it was a result much closer than the final number suggests. Leading this resistance was Bumrah, also skipper in the first and last Tests at Perth and Sydney, respectively. His 32 wickets at 13.06 were from the top-drawer of fast-bowling excellence.