2 min readAug 5, 2026 12:53 PM IST
Jasprit Bumrah’s injury woes continued as the ace pacer has been ruled out of India’s upcoming red-ball series against Sri Lanka. Former Indian seamer Karsan Ghavri suggested that Bumrah should consider taking a one-year break from cricket if needed, to achieve complete fitness before returning to the side.
Ghavri also said that the numerous ongoing tournaments make managing his workload difficult.
“Bumrah should take a break for five to six months or even a year, and get back to 100 per cent fitness. The issue is that he goes into tournaments even if he’s half-fit and then, due to workload management, halfway through, there’s a breakdown. This is unnecessary. Only if he can manage his workload throughout a tournament should he be included in the team,” Gharvi said to the Mid-day.
“Shami and Bhuvi have been playing consistently in the IPL without injuries and should return to the national set-up. Selectors should consider them. All fast bowlers face niggles or injuries, but Bumrah has been on and off for the last two-three years. He has hardly played an entire series. That’s not a good sign for him or for the country,” he added.
Another former pacer Raju Kulkarni said Bumrah should consider only playing one format going forward and that should be Test cricket.
“I don’t think Bumrah can sustain playing all formats. The team management must consider playing him only in Tests as that’s a critical format. Though he may want to play IPL, T20Is and ODIs too, it’s not viable. For this reason, it will be great if Mohammed Siraj can get the support of senior pacers like Shami and Bhuvi. Bhuvi should be used in T20Is because he’s done brilliantly in the IPL. And you can rotate Shami and Siraj in Tests. This will reduce the pressure on Bumrah,” said Kulkarni
