Shane Bond urges India to manage Jasprit Bumrah’s workload with guile

Former New Zealand gun fast bowler Shane Bond has warned India over the potential threat of overburdening Jasprit Bumrah. The Indian ace pacer was ruled out of the recently concluded Champions Trophy due to a back injury, that he suffered in the fifth Test match against Australia at Sydney.

Bumrah has been India’s best fast bowler across formats and he holds the key for the team. The Indian pack leader had bagged 32 wickets in five Test matches against Australia at a staggering average of 13.06. However, Bond noted that a back injury could potentially end a fast bowler’s career if not managed well.

Bumrah has already undergone the knife for the back injury and Bond said he isn’t sure if one can have another surgery at the same spot.

Shane Bond said on ESPN Cricinfo, “He’s too valuable for the next World Cup and stuff. So you’d be looking at five Tests in England, I wouldn’t want to be playing him in any more than two in a row. They may say, look, it’s four Test matches in total. Or three.”

“If we can get him through the English summer and he’s fit, we can probably then go with some confidence that we can carry him across the rest of the formats. So that’s hard because he is your best bowler, but if he has another injury in the same spot, that could be a career-ender, potentially, because I’m not sure you can have surgery on that spot again.”

Bond said he knew it would be difficult for Bumrah to get fit for the Champions Trophy after suffering the back injury in Australia.

“When he went off for scans, it was at Sydney, there was some messaging coming up around that he had sprains and stuff like that. I worried that it wasn’t going to be a sprain, it might be a bony injury around that area [the back]. I thought he may struggle to make the Champions Trophy if it was.”

Bumrah will be seen in action for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2025.