Kapil Dev raises an alarm over the longevity of Jasprit Bumrah
If there is any player who has come up as an absolute match-winner for India, it has to be Jasprit Bumrah in the current timeline. The speedster is a prized possession across formats for India. While the touring side suffered a 1-3 defeat in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, Bumrah emerged as the Player of the Series with 32 scalps across five matches. Prior to his one-man show in the Test series down under, Bumrah came up as one of the leading factors behind India's 2024 T20 World Cup win. However, as valuable as Bumrah is, the 31-year-old is also a tricky player to manage, owing to his unique action and the toll it takes on his body.
Managing the workload of Jasprit Bumrah was one of the top priorities for the visitors in the India vs England Test series. Bowling across the five matches in the BGT, the pace spearhead had sustained a serious back injury. In a bid to avoid the same mistake this time around, Bumrah, in consultation with the management, made it clear beforehand that he would not play all five fixtures on the England tour. However, irrespective of the timeline of his decision, the pacer still landed in controversy as the stakes rose higher for India in England.
India won the Edgbaston Test, the second India vs England Test, by 336 runs. The Birmingham showdown was the first match that Bumrah sat out. Next up, Bumrah missed the fifth and final Test. Playing at The Oval, India had a 3-1 series defeat to avert, and the fraternity roared against preserving Bumrah for such a crucial fixture. However, with Mohammed Siraj headlining the game on Day 5 of The Oval Test, India clinched a narrow victory, drawing the series 2-2. While Shubman Gill and Co. concluded the series on a high, the scrutiny against Bumrah did not slow down.
"Can Jasprit Bumrah sustain for another 10-12 years?" Kapil Dev questions
Despite battling fitness issues in recent years, Bumrah continues to dominate the world stage, currently holding the No. 1 spot in the ICC Test bowling rankings. Since making his debut for India in 2016, however, his career has been interrupted multiple times by injuries, forcing the BCCI to manage his workload carefully. These setbacks have already seen him miss major tournaments, including the 2022 T20 World Cup, the 2023 WTC Final, and the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
Now, former Indian captain Kapil Dev has questioned whether Bumrah’s distinctive bowling style can withstand the demands of another decade in international cricket. Any pacer deals with a heightened injury risk compared to other players in the team. However, the threat is relatively higher for Jasprit Bumrah. With a short run-up and an unusual action, Bumrah's unpredictable line and lengths are the leading factors behind his success. Yet, it is the same action and run-up that pose a greater risk to his overall fitness. In his recent analysis, Kapil Dev highlighted the same, questioning the longevity of India's match-winner.
"There are two things that always come out. Any bowler in the world with an awkward action takes that much difficult time for a batter to pick the ball, like Malinga. Those types of bowlers we don't practice against in the nets, and suddenly, out of the blue, somebody comes with a different action, a difficult action, and in that fraction of a second, if you can't pick what he's trying to do, that is good enough for a bowler," Kapil Dev said.
“So, Bumrah has become very good because nobody could imagine from a batsman's point of view that in such a short run-up, he can generate such big pace. His action is not like an athlete's action; that's why Bumrah can be devastating for the opposition. But can he sustain that for a period of 10 or 12 years, which, as a cricketer, we feel is difficult,” he added.
