Jasprit Bumrah should quit Tests, focus on white ball for Indian cricket's sake

India's pace bowling attack in Test cricket was considered among the strongest in the world till about a couple of years ago. There was the trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj with a host of other young pace bowlers waiting in the wings alongside veterans and the experienced Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav.

But now as it was evident a few months ago in Australia, the fate of Indian pace attack depends on the availability of Jasprit Bumrah with the likes of Shami, Ishant and Umesh fading away and the new crop not experienced enough to be taken seriously as lead bowlers.

If Bumrah plays, India will surely test the opposition. If he doesn't, the attack will more likely fail. That has become the norm and the belief.

The focus on Bumrah has relegated the other young pacers to a secondary role. They are all, at best, deemed as support bowlers and none have emerged as a strike bowler.

With the 31-year-old pacer struggling to cope with the increasing workload, now opting to play select Test matches even after having been given the option to skip non-elite tournaments and series, it is time for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors to have a chat with him about his career.

The obvious path going forward, after the Test series in England is over, is to reserve him for white ball cricket. India have the T20 World Cup coming up next year at home and also the 50-over World Cup in South Africa a couple of years later. That apart, there is his lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) career. Bumrah's services will be required there and India and Mumbai Indians will need him there at full throttle.

The drawback in allowing him to continue playing Test cricket is that the pace bowling unit will never get established and there will never be a leader of the pack when he is not around due to rest or injury.

There is no doubt that Jasprit Bumrah is among the all-time greats, a bowler superior than others in today's cricket. He is possibly India's biggest match winner, at least in the last 30-35 years, perhaps bigger than Sachin Tendulkar, one of world cricket's greatest batsmen ever.

But it is not that India cannot do well without Bumrah. Let us not forget that India won the famous Gabba Test during the 2020-21 series Down Under without Bumrah, who had to sit out of that Test due to injury. And that India won the recent Champions Trophy without his services. He was ruled out of the 50-overs multi-nation tournament played in Pakistan and UAE.

Let us also not forget that India conceded 378 and 371 against England in Test matches with him in the pace attack.

In Test cricket, no one is indispensable and it is more about driving the team in unison. India won the Test series in Australia in 2020-21 without Virat Kohli too when it seemed that the series would go 4-0 in Australia's favour after the humiliating loss in the first Test at Adelaide.

Bumrah has played 46 Test matches since his debut on January 5, 2018. India have played 72 Test matches since January 5, 2018. It means that he has missed 26 Test matches. He missed the 2023 World Test Championship final, Test cricket's pinnacle nowadays.

Let us not forget that he has faced fitness problems during a period -- age 25 to 31 -- considered to be the peak of a pace bowler with the highest levels of strength in his body.

Kapil Dev, in comparison, played 131 Test matches between October 16, 1978 -- his debut -- and March 19, 1994, his last Test. During that period, India played 132 Test matches, meaning that he missed just one Test match in his 16-year career!

Zaheer Khan too had fitness concerns during his time -- he famously got injured after the first Test at Gabba during the 2003-04 tour of Australia. During the period of November 10, 2000 -- his debut, and February 14, 2014 -- his final Test, he represented India in 92 Tests when the team played as many as 145 Test matches. The bowler, who was known as India's most complete bowler, missed 53 Tests!

But during Zaheer's time there were bowlers who could stand up and take the lead bowler's role, including great spinners like Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh or on occasions Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav. There were also bowlers who could come up with match-changing spells like Irfan Pathan, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Javagal Srinath, the man who took over the mantle from Kapil Dev as India's lead pacer, played 67 Tests from November 29, 1991, his debut to October 30, 2002, his last Test. India played 95 Tests during that phase but many of the 28 Test matches Srinath missed was because Kapil Dev was the preferred choice in the limited pace line-up in India's spin-friendly conditions till March, 1994 when the legendary all-rounder retired. Srinath also sat out a Test in Sri Lanka in 1993. So, India's pace attack was never threatened with confusion.

In Bumrah's case, with Shami gone and Ashwin having retired and Ravindra Jadeja on the way out, and his regular availability uncertain there is a serious dearth of bowlers who can lead the pack even at home. It has led to confusion about the attack. Mohammed Siraj has not shown the progress, maturity and consistency expected from him to take up the leadership role.

So, it is probably time that India move on from Bumrah and let him focus on white ball cricket so that India can avail his services in the two shorter formats for a longer period. And over the next few months invest in pace bowlers, who can play the longer format far more consistently and develop into a Test pack.

Tags : Jasprit Bumrah, Test cricket, Mohammed Siraj, IPL, BCCI, England