The entire nation went into commotion when we got the visuals from Sydney. Jasprit Bumrah, the leader for the do-or-die fifth Test, was carried in a car off the stadium for scans. Much to everyone’s delight, Bumrah was back in the dressing room. He missed the second half of the Australian first innings, which saw them fall short by 4 runs. India, buoyed by their slender lead, got off to a superb start courtesy of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant but the Aussie bowlers had India 141/6 at stumps.
Jasprit Bumrah’s injury was a long time coming
Bumrah has literally carried the Indian team for the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) so far. For major parts, it seemed like the action was just between a well-gelled Australian team and Bumrah, the wrecker-in-chief. His stats say it all, having racked up 32 wickets at an unheard bowling average of 13.06. His tally of 32 wickets is awesomely the best by an Indian bowler in a series on Australian soil. But all this came with a cost as well.
Bumrah caught his back, as revealed by Prasidh Krishna at the post-day press conference. But given Bumrah’s workload, this was supposed to happen. Bumrah has been bowling tirelessly, session after session, and has been the crisis man for India. In one of the games, he bowled as many as nine spells in an innings. Note: Since 2024, no pacer has bowled more balls in Test cricket than Bumrah! This is quite insane given he was the crisis man at the T20 World Cup 2024 as well, winning the Player of the Tournament in that campaign.
Bumrah’s BGT = 3 full IPL seasons?
Since 2024, Bumah has bowled 2202 balls, equal to 367.0 overs. He is quite far ahead of the second-placed Gus Atkinson, who has bowled 1852 in the period. Quite fascinatingly, Bumrah has dished out 908 balls (151.2 overs) in the ongoing BGT 2024/25. This is almost equivalent to three full seasons of bowling in the IPL. Every IPL season consists of 14 league matches, which is 168 overs if a bowler completes his quota in every game. If we consider 13 IPL games a season for three years, the overs are 156, and Bumrah has sent down 151.2 overs in this BGT alone.
The stat is quite concerning. But for a player who has carried the entire bowling unit, you cannot risk resting him in as important series as BGT as well. The conundrum for Bumrah’s workload has been quite debatable in last month or so but here we are. As Indian fans, we would hope that Bumrah recovers quickly and give his last jog in the series on Day 3 and Day 4 (if needed) to retain the BGT.
Most balls bowled by pacers since 2024 ft. Bumrah (Tests)
| Player | Inns | Balls Bowled | Overs | Mdns | Runs | Wkts | BBM | Ave | SR | 5s |
| Bumrah | 27 | 2202 | 367 | 86 | 1093 | 73 | 9/91 | 14.97 | 30.1 | 5 |
| Atkinson | 21 | 1852 | 308.4 | 52 | 1152 | 52 | 12/106 | 22.15 | 35.6 | 3 |
| Siraj | 26 | 1815 | 302.3 | 56 | 1130 | 38 | 7/46 | 29.73 | 47.7 | 1 |
| Cummins | 20 | 1812 | 302 | 51 | 957 | 40 | 7/98 | 23.92 | 45.3 | 2 |
| Starc | 20 | 1715 | 285.5 | 53 | 1032 | 34 | 8/108 | 30.35 | 50.4 | 1 |
Editor's Pick
Cricket
Shubman Gill removed? Jasprit Bumrah to be India's vice-captain for Champions Trophy 2025: Report
Top Stories
