Former BCCI selection committee chairman and 1983 World Cup winner Sandip Patil has come down heavily on the current selection regime for their handling of Jasprit Bumrah’s workload management during India’s recently concluded tour of England, dismissing the idea as “nonsense.” Bumrah, India’s pace spearhead, played three out of the five Tests in the series as per the advice of team doctors who wanted to manage his bowling workload. India won both matches in which Bumrah was absent, but his non-participation including missing the final Test due to a niggle did raise questions.
Bumrah’s Injury History & Selection Limitation
Bumrah’s fitness concerns have been well-documented. During India’s away tour of Australia, he suffered a back stress fracture in the final Test, ruling him out for almost four months. To avoid aggravating his injury, team physios and NCA medical staff recommended that he should not play more than three matches on long overseas tours.
In the England series, the 31-year-old finished with 14 wickets from the three matches he played.
Sandip Patil: “You Are Either Fit or You Are Not”
Patil who chaired the selection panel between 2012 and 2016 and was the one to hand Bumrah his maiden opportunity on an away series to Australia minced no words while questioning the board’s approach.
“I wonder how the BCCI is agreeing to all this. Is the physio more important than the captain, than the head coach? What about selectors? Are we to expect that the physio will be sitting in selection committee meetings now?” Patil told Mid-Day. “Workload management is nonsense. You are either fit or unfit, and that’s how we [his selection committee] picked teams. We did not entertain this workload business.”
“When You Play for Your Country, You Give Everything”
Patil also drew comparisons with cricketing legends like Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, as well as his own experiences.
“When you are picked for your country, you die for your country. You are a warrior. I have seen Sunil Gavaskar bat on all five days of a match, I’ve seen Kapil Dev bowl on most days of a Test match, and even bowl to us in the nets. They never asked for breaks, never complained, and their careers extended to 16-plus years. I didn’t miss the next Test after my head injury in Australia in 1981.”
Mixed Response from Fans, Some Push Back
Patil’s strong words sparked heated debate online. Many felt he was being overdramatic, with some fans arguing that enforcing workload management could prevent career-threatening injuries for players like Bumrah.
Others noted that Bumrah’s three-match participation was agreed upon before the series began a joint decision by the head coach, captain, and selectors making the criticism unfair.
“Very very unfortunate the way, Bumrah’s case has been presented. It was decided pre-series, that he will be playing only 3 Tests, then what’s the fuss about. And if there’s that big an issue with him picking and choosing, don’t select him. Have never seen such arguments from English cricketers about Wood, Archer (sic).”
Bumrah, who is currently No. 1 in the ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings, has played 91 Test innings and taken 219 wickets at an exceptional average of 19.82.
