Bumrah Needs An Off-season To Manage His Workload, Suggests McGrath

The fitness and availability of Jasprit Bumrah have remained a topic of discussion in every single Test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. However, Bumrah could only play three Test matches, which was exactly what he said before the series, citing workload issues as the reason behind it. 

Speaking at the MRF Pace Foundation, Glenn McGrath, who has 563 Test wickets and is considered one of the best fast bowlers of all time, felt that Bumrah, due to the uniqueness of his bowling action, needs an off-season to prepare his body for the grind of international cricket. 

“His whole action is different to a lot of fast bowlers. He’s got a slow run-up and the last few steps just really accelerate him through the crease,” McGrath said, as quoted by The Indian Express. 

“He’s got hyperextension, and he’s just got a great wrist. And the way he releases it is a fair bit closer to the batsman because of his technique than all other bowlers. So, there’s a lot that’s unique about him, but when he gets it right, it just all comes together well. He’s found what’s worked for him. 

“Unfortunately, what he does is pretty tough on the body. Especially when you’re playing a lot of cricket, there’s no time to have an off-season. He really needs to get a lot stronger physically and fitter to put up with the stresses of fast bowling. And he needs an off-season. It will get him strong through the season,” McGrath added. 

He explained the importance of the off-season for a pacer and said that the other bowlers in the Indian fast bowling ecosystem will have to rise, and the team will need a good bench of pacers to ensure Bumrah remains fresh and ready for all the key games played by the Indian team. 

“Well, it’s important for a fast bowler to have an off-season. If you just keep playing year in, year out, I always say it’s like driving a car. And you don’t fill it up with fuel. But you keep driving it. Sooner or later, you’re going to run out of fuel, and things will happen. It’s the nature of the beast. Being a fast bowler, we put a lot of stress on our bodies,” the Australian said. 

“You want your best bowler bowling. And he’ll want to bowl all the time. If he’s just bowling in short spells, then the batting team know they just can get through the three or four overs and then they’re away. So it depends a lot on the other bowlers. You need another group of fast bowlers coming through to balance it out so that he doesn’t have to bowl long spells. 

“You’ve got other bowlers bowling equally as well to carry the workload. You look at Bumrah, he’s so effective in ODI and T20 cricket. To limit himself to Test cricket would be a shame. But, he’s got to work out what’s best for him.”