‘To utilise Bumrah, you need to have brains’ - Ravi Shastri takes veiled dig at Indian management

Amid India’s bowling struggles in the ongoing ODI series against South Africa, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri appeared to take a veiled dig at the team management over pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah’s workload discussions. In the absence of Bumrah, the Indian pace attack, featuring Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna, has been thoroughly exposed by the Proteas batters.

India have conceded nearly 700 runs across the first two matches. Addressing the debate around Bumrah’s workload, Shastri remarked that one needs to have brains to utilise the star pacer effectively, hinting that the management’s approach might require better judgement.

"Bumrah is a dada bowler. Bumrah ko lene ke liye bhi akal hona chahiye na. (For utilising Bumrah, you need to have brains). You made him a white-ball bowler, so how has he become a red-ball bowler?," said Shastri on Prabhat Khabar.

Bumrah has been at the centre of a major workload management debate after featuring in only three of the five matches during India’s tour of England. He recently played both Tests against South Africa, and although he skipped the ongoing ODI series, the star pacer is set to return for the upcoming T20Is.

Amid the discussions, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin suggested that Bumrah should prioritise white-ball cricket and play Test matches only when absolutely necessary. He further stated that even if Bumrah wishes to continue playing Tests, he should avoid meaningless ODIs while still featuring in T20 cricket.

"I've got a great relationship with him. If I were anywhere near him, I'd go and tell him, you know what, just play the white ball format. Unless and until we need you, do not step into the Test side. And that's what I would tell him. But I know him personally. He loves the Test format. He wants to play as long as he can. He knows it's going to be a challenge," Ashwin said during a conversation with AB de Villiers.

India are currently locked in a three-match ODI series against South Africa, with the series tied at 1-1. India won the opening game in Ranchi, but South Africa bounced back strongly in the second ODI in Raipur to level the series.