Former India cricketer and commentator Rohan Gavaskar had a surprise reaction to Jasprit Bumrah missing out on the T20 World Cup 2022 due to a back injury. He highlighted how Team India won matches even without the speedster this year and prepared accordingly.
On October 3, the BCCI confirmed that Bumrah had been ruled out due to a stress fracture in his back. The board said that they would announce his replacement soon, with reports claiming it could be either Mohammad Shami or Mohammed Siraj.
Reacting to the news, Rohan, son of the legendary and very outspoken Sunil Gavaskar, said that Bumrah's absence for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 can’t be called a loss for the Indian cricket team because he's missed a lot of T20Is recently due to either a break or injury.
Rohan Gavaskar told Sports18: “You can't replace Jasprit Bumrah and what he brings to the team. Any team that has Bumrah has an advantage. For me, if I had to pick a bowling XI, he's the first pick from the bowling side of things. But is it a loss? I'm not so sure you can call it a loss, because how many T20 internationals has Jasprit actually played in the last year and a half? So, I think the Indian team have sort of gotten used to not having him in the side and have made plans accordingly.”
Speaking on Bumrah's workload, the former batter opined: “When you talk about workload management - you look at the number of matches he's played for India in T20 internationals, he's played only five. So, it's a tough one, it's not like he's overburdened or his workload this year has been so much that it cost a breakdown.”
He signed off by saying, “It's clearly not, there is a big difference between the number of games he's played, and the team has played. They will have to find a way to manage his injury and make sure we get the best out of him because he's a quality bowler.”
