Sanjay Manjrekar has a dig at BCCI on no role for Bumrah!

Call it adding ‘fuel to fire’ or adding more intrigue, the BCCI is being painted with a brush and black paint by one and all. The latest, in a series of laughable attacks on the BCCI, is former cricketers using social media to mock the apex body.

It is well known, since the time ‘planted news’ appeared in the media that coach Gautam Gambhir had a chat with Shubman Gill, it was presumed he would be the new Test captain. Interestingly, Gambhir himself never said anything on it, though he had met the BCCI bigwigs in Mumbai last week. The coach is now on a temple-hopping spree, from the Siddhi Vinayak temple in Mumbai to Tirupati.

On Sunday, well-known commentator Sanjay Manjrekar posted a cryptic tweet, if Bumrah was not available for the England tour where India will play five Tests. There has been too much presumption Bumrah’s fitness is not a 100 per cent and he cannot play all five Tests. Pray, does not a fast bowler of Bumrah’s stature get to say a word on his own fitness and what he wants to do. Captaincy is an honour and as deputy to Rohit Sharma in the BGT Series in Australia, he bowled his heart out. That he landed with a back injury during the final Test in Sydney was unfortunate.

The same Gambhir who is now batting for Gill as captain, if media reports are to be believed, never said a word on Bumrah’s injury. Why the coach is so uptight is not clear, but he is clearly not a favourite of many players. It is well known, three retirements in the form of R.Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli has not gone down well with the fans and former greats.

Coming back to Manjrekar, there is now an element of doubt if he had a chat with Bumrah. They hail from the same city. Given Mumbai’s cricketing culture, players back each other. There is nothing like back-stabbing in public. For those who said Ravi Shastri does not get along well with Rohit Sharma, the two were pictured together when a stand was named after the legendary former captain at the Wankhede Stadium two days ago.

One must realise, with the IPL having resumed, players would like to focus on the matches ahead. This kind of negative news or sensational news on Bumrah does no good. It reflects poorly on the BCCI, which had announced the India A team two days back. If that could be done so easily, what is stopping the BCCI from naming the team and leaders for the Test series to England?

Last but not the least, it will be best if the BCCI speaks up on whatever is happening with retirements and new leadership roles. Surely, a rich body cannot be busy just with the resumption of the IPL. As of now, the BCCI has become laughing stock at large.