"Handle him as if he's played 100 Test matches" - Former batter's blunt take on Jasprit Bumrah's fitness amid ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Former batter Sanjay Manjrekar has opined that India's lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah's workload needs to be managed with extreme caution. He added that the pacer must be handled as if he is someone who has already played 100 Tests.

Bumrah's workload management has been a matter of debate even since the conclusion of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Ahead of the ongoing England tour, the Indian team management had confirmed that the 31-year-old would play only three of the five Tests in the series. He was rested for the second Test in Birmingham.

Despite a long break between the third and fourth Tests, Bumrah has looked out of sorts in the first innings of the ongoing clash against England in Manchester. Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar admitted that there are genuine issues with Bumrah's fitness. He, however, added that the right-arm pacer is a genius of a bowler and thus needs to be handled with a lot of care to get the best out of him.

"We saw that right at the start of the series as well. Started off impressively at Headingley. First innings, he bowled well, but second innings, we could see him not having the same kind of effect. The speeds go down a little bit. Then the break came in," Manjrekar commented. "Very early in his career, we have to deal with a situation where you have a genius bowler, but you have to handle him as if he's played 100 Test matches. It's unfortunate that this is the situation, but it is something that people will always talk about because it's come very early into his career. It is the reality, but Bumrah, even when he is bowling at 130 kph is still going to be your best seam bowler," the 60-year-old went on to add.

Bumrah claimed a five-fer in the first innings in Leeds and repeated the feat at Lord's. In the first innings in Manchester, though, he has bowled 28 overs so far and has registered figures of 1-95.

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"He is not a Mohammad Shami or a Jasprit Bumrah" - Sanjay Manjrekar evaluates Siraj's performance

While there has been plenty of discussion on Bumrah's workload management, his partner Mohammed Siraj has already bowled 135 overs in the series, claiming 14 wickets. While analyzing Siraj's performance, Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo that the pacer has his limitations, but added that his commitment cannot be questioned.

"Siraj came into this series with lack of form. Within his limitations, he's done the best that he could. He's bowled with a lot of spirit. But, he has his limitations. He is not a Mohammad Shami or a Jasprit Bumrah or a Zaheer Khan for that matter," Manjrekar said. "I can understand India going for him because they were struggling to find fit players and this is the guy who was fit enough to play and bowl with a lot of keenness," the former India batter added.

Siraj has bowled 26 overs so far in the first innings of the Manchester Test against England. The fast bowler has registered figures of 1-113. He knocked over Chris Woakes (4) to claim his first wicket of the match.

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Edited by Renin Wilben Albert