Should Jasprit Bumrah play Brisbane Test? Gautam Gambhir gives his take

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has opined that Jasprit Bumrah should be rested in the fourth and final Test against Australia at The Gabba in Brisbane as he said it is important to save the ace Indian pacer from burning out. 

Bumrah has suffered an abdominal strain and is a major doubt for the series decider against Australia in Brisbane. However, the Indian team management has still kept the doors open for Bumrah to feature in the Brisbane Test given he is fit enough to bowl. 

"See again, he hasn’t played a Test match in India till now, Has he? He hasn’t. So, I’m sure the Indian team management has looked after Jasprit Bumrah reasonably well. They have actually used him in places like England, South Africa, and Australia, where he has got to be even more threatening," Gautam Gambhir said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports. 

Bumrah is yet to feature in a Test match on home soil and Gambhir reckons that the pacer will be more lethal in Indian pitches. 

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"I’m not saying he is not going to be threatening in India. He is going to be even more threatening in India, where wickets can get low and slow and he can reverse the ball really well. His quality. It’s just his quality and the lengths he bowls, and the amount of pressure he puts the batsman under. 

"Whether he is bowling with an old ball or a new ball. From the time he started, the ball which goes away from the right hand and he is able to bring the ball back in, has made it even more dangerous,” said Gambhir.  

With a jam-packed calendar awaiting the Indian team in the year 2021, Gambhir said that the management needs to save Bumrah for other series as well.

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“But then again, you got to look after him as well, because he is going to be the leader of the attack for a very long time, so him being fit is very important, so when India plays England for the 4th Test match.  

"I know, yes, Mohd Shami is unfit, Ishant Sharma is unfit, Umesh Yadav is unfit but you can’t afford to play Jasprit Bumrah all the 4 Test matches, it will be very unfair on him,” he said. 

Notably, Bumrah has bowled the most number overs – 117.4 - in the ongoing Test series against Australia from both the teams.