Jasprit Bumrah played only three tests out of five during Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025.

Former India pacer Balwinder Singh Sandhu has backed Jasprit Bumrah’s call on workload management. This comes after the fast bowler was slammed by many cricket fans and former cricketers for picking and choosing matches during the recent England vs India series.

The right-arm pacer played only three matches out of five during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. Ahead of the England tour, he clarified the management that he will only play three games during the series to manage his workload and avoid injuries.

Bumrah also skipped the crucial fifth test at The Oval, which India needed to win at any cost to draw the series. Interestingly, Mohammed Siraj played all five games for India during the series.

Balwinder Singh Sandhu backs Jasprit Bumrah’s call on workload management

In his column for Midday, 1983 Cricket World Cup-winning pacer Balwinder Sandhu supported Bumrah for his decision on workload management. Sandhu noted that nobody questions batters when they take breaks from a series.

“In these seven years, how many batsmen have gone without injury breaks? How many have opted out of a series quietly? Nobody really questions them. But when it comes to a fast bowler, everyone seems ready to pounce. The truth is – fast bowling is brutal,” Sandhu wrote.

“I was stunned when I saw these numbers. Jasprit Bumrah has had an average rest of just 3.2 days for every playing day across the last seven years, while Mohammed Siraj has had 3.5 days, and Mohammed Shami, 3.7. And remember, both Bumrah and Shami have also missed matches because of injuries. That only makes these statistics even more telling,” he added.

Notably, Bumrah sustained injury after featuring in all five games during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 earlier this year. Later, he had to miss the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to injury.

Meanwhile, the senior Indian pacer will be next seen in the Asia Cup 2025. He has been picked in Indian squad for the tournament and will lead the team’s pace attack during the campaign. Led by Suryakumar Yadav, India are part of Group A in the Asia Cup 2025. They will face the UAE in their opening game on September 10.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.