Sunil Gavaskar shared his thoughts on whether the Indian team mismanaged the workload of pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the recent BGT 2024 Test series against Australia. Bumrah won Player of the Series, but Australia easily won 3-1.

The speedster finished the series as the leading wicket-taker, taking 32 wickets in five Tests at an amazing average of 13.06, including three five-wicket hauls.

However, these wickets came at a price as Jasprit Bumrah finally broke down in the fifth Test in Sydney. He suffered from back spasms during the first innings of Australia and after going to the hospital for scans, he didn’t bowl at all in the second innings, as India defended 162 runs.

“I think they did what was best for the team, because without him, India would not have been in any position in the series. Therefore, when you have a bowler, who's taking the wickets, you tend to over bowl him to an extent and that is totally understandable. I don't think we can blame the team management for this because they and Bumrah were only looking to do what was good for the team at that particular point in time,” Gavaskar told India Today.

Bumrah bowled 10 overs on Day 2 of the Sydney Test. He was spotted driving to a hospital in a van to have scans. Although he returned to the SCG and batted in India's second innings, he was unable to bowl as India defended 162.

“Yes, they would have. Look, it's a back injury. Bumrah is a very, very dedicated cricketer. And so I think even if he had been a little bit able to bowl, he would have come out and bowled. Therefore, I was praying overnight that, he could maybe come and bowl just four or five overs with the new ball. And I knew that India would not be able to set Australia a target of more than 190 and 200. So, if he could have come in bowl, four or five overs at the start, then that would have made a big difference,” Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar stated that the workload began to take its toll on Bumrah's physique during the second innings of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. Gavaskar claimed that bowling eight to nine spells in difficult conditions did not benefit Bumrah in any way.

“I think what really took the load for him was the fourth day in Melbourne, where he bowled eight to nine different spells of three to four overs. And I think that really took a toll on his body. And there was actually a video of him saying to Rohit Sharma, ‘ab bass ho gaya’, and which actually tells you that even for a man who loves bowling, who enjoys taking wickets for India, the load had just got a little too much,” Gavaskar added.

During this Test series, Jasprit Bumrah completed his 200 Test wickets and became the fastest Indian pacer to the landmark.