23 July,2025 08:11 AM IST | Mumbai | Subodh Mayure
Jasprit Bumrah trains at Old Trafford on Monday. Pic/Getty Images
India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's first coach Kishore Trivedi cannot make sense of the workload management concept owing to which the pacer is scheduled to play just three of the five Tests in the India vs England series.
Bumrah, 31, was part of the opening Test at Leeds and in the third Test at Lord's, picked five and seven wickets respectively. With Shubman Gill & Co 1-2 down in the series, it was recently confirmed that he will play the must-win fourth Test starting at Old Trafford on Wednesday. Trivedi however insists that Bumrah, who has 217 Test wickets from 47 matches including 15 fifers, should be ready to play both remaining Tests. "If we win the Manchester Test, Jasprit must play the fifth Test [July 31 to August 4] at The Oval as well. But if we lose the fourth Test, since we've then lost the series, they can give him a rest and play another pacer," Trivedi, 79, told mid-day over the phone from Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Interestingly, Trivedi has a suggestion for the team management to ensure Bumrah can be utilised more. "Jasprit is a World No. 1 bowler, so the discussion about him and whether he will play or not, is bound to happen. I feel they [India captain and coach] should give him small spells of three to four overs in the match to manage his workload," said Trivedi, adding that this whole workload management strategy could be because the team management wants to preserve Bumrah for the big white-ball tournaments later on. "I think Jasprit is confident about playing, but the team management may not have that confidence, because they want to preserve him for some of the big upcoming tournaments like Asia Cup [likely to be held in September in India] and T20 World Cup [to be held in India and Sri Lanka in February-March 2026]. I feel the main purpose of this workload management is to save him for the big white-ball events, otherwise there's no question of him having any injury," added Trivedi, who coached Bumrah for three years at the Royal Cricket Academy in Ahmedabad, when he was 16.
The veteran coach also felt that Bumrah should speak to the team management and insist on playing more. "There is no pressure on him, but there is pressure on the team management that he may get injured and that's why they gave him rest [for the 2nd Test]. He doesn't speak much. He should tell the team management that he's ready and will play and the management should trust him.
Trivedi felt that the pitch for the fourth Test could be flat because of Bumrah. "England may prepare a batting paradise pitch for the 4th Test because Jasprit is unplayable on bouncy tracks. There will be no green top," he concluded.
15
No. of fifers Jasprit Bumrah has taken in 47 Tests
