Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has urged star pacer Jasprit Bumrah to show deeper commitment to Indian cricket, expressing confusion regarding the management of his career.
This critique follows intense discussions surrounding Bumrah’s availability and workload as he navigates international and franchise cricket.
After playing 13 league matches for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL 2026 season, Bumrah was rested for India’s home assignment against Afghanistan (one-off Test and three ODIs).
While the speedster didn’t feature in India’s squad for the upcoming T20I series against Ireland and England announced on Saturday (June 6), he was included in the 15-member squad for the Asian Games 2026.
Speaking on the Sony Sports Network, Manjrekar stated that Bumrah was his "first choice" to lead the T20I side, noting that fast bowler’s workload can be effectively managed in the shortest format.
“Asian Games, those performances and those results don't stay with you for too long. Cricket is still a sport of bilaterals and our own World Cups. The Olympics, when it comes as well, I don't think it will have the same sanctity that you have. It would be nice to win the Asia Games, but Bumrah is somebody; I'm just confused about how his career is going in terms of his availability. I did an Insta post yesterday. I thought Bumrah was the frontrunner to become India's T20 captain because I thought he could handle the T20 workload,” Manjrekar said.
“But it seems like he's not very keen to play every game that India plays. So here is a guy who actually rests for India games and keeps himself fit for certain India games. So it's a very different approach, something that I don't understand. I just wish that he would commit himself more to India. I can understand the workload he feels for Test cricket; 50 overs of cricket is extremely demanding. But considering that he played the entire IPL, I thought he would be able to take the workload of a few T20 matches in Ireland and England,” he added.
Not the one to mince his words, Manjrekar stated that because of Bumrah's unavailability, the Indian captaincy has gone prematurely to players like Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer.
Notably, Bumrah declined the Test captaincy last year due to workload management, and the selectors handed the high-profile role to Gill. Shreyas was named the new T20I skipper on Saturday as the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel completely sidelined Suryakumar Yadav from the squad.
“I wish he were available. And he was my go-to captain. He was certainly deserving of ability and leadership qualities as well. Bumrah has not been too keen to take captaincy. It's gone prematurely to other Indian players like Shubman Gill in England and now Shreyas Iyer as well,” Manjrekar remarked.
