‘Indian cricket must not adjust for Bumrah…’ Sanjay Manjrekar’s BOLD claim on Team India’s frontline quick

Cricket broadcaster Sanjay Manjrekar is known for making bold statements, and this time was no different. Lately, he has made some remarks on why Jasprit Bumrah should not be Team India’s frontline seamer, also suggesting how he, and not Indian cricket, must be the one adjusting. Meanwhile, Bumrah was part of the recently concluded England Tests, featuring in just three of the five matches, as also earlier suggested by the NCA and team doctors, considering his persistent back injuries over the years. While India did not win any match that he featured in, the pace attack fared well in his absence, helping India come from behind and square the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy (2-2).

Manjrekar, who called out the games from the commentary box, shared his opinion in his column for Hindustan Times (HT), suggesting that the selectors must now take some harsh calls to safeguard players’ careers and, more importantly, Indian cricket.

"The game will always show us the mirror, however much we try and gloss over things. It was poetic justice that the two Tests India won were two matches Bumrah did not play,” Manjrekar wrote. "This should embolden the Indian selectors to make some hard choices when it comes to big-name players. This series has been a great lesson to them and to us too, the two Test victories India achieved did not feature Virat (Kohli), (Cheteshwar) Pujara, Rohit (Sharma), (Mohammed) Shami and Bumrah too! It reminded us of the eternal truth of sport and life, no one, however great, is indispensable. And this is how India must handle Bumrah," he added in his column for HT.

The former India and Mumbai batter also wrote that if Bumrah cannot play two games in a row or even more on the upcoming tours, he must not be leading the pace attack.

"If he cannot play more than two matches in a row or sometimes even more than one, he must not be your frontline pick. Players who are match fit, eager, keen to play and perform should be picked any day for me over a highly skilled player. It will motivate such enthusiastic players even more. This is not an idealistic position to take, but it’s the right one for the long-term health of a team sport," Manjrekar continued.

‘He must adjust to Indian Cricket’

However, he dropped his boldest remark on Bumrah, saying no one is bigger than the game, and that he should be the one adjusting to how Indian Cricket operates and not the other way around. He also suggested that longevity and durability are imperative for Jasprit, and given his status, he must be 100% fit and ready to deliver for his team whenever they need him.

"As for Bumrah, of whom I am a fan, if he really wants to serve Indian Test cricket, longevity and durability is an imperative for him, it’s after all, the true test of a great athlete is to still turn up when not 100% fit and deliver."

"Indian cricket must not adjust for Bumrah, Bumrah must. That is, if he wants to. By making some tough choices or working even harder on his fitness, this fitness bar can be raised to whatever levels one wants, like all fast bowling greats have done before him," Manjrekar added.