India’s thrilling six-run victory in the final Test at The Oval, which helped level the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2, has sparked renewed debate over workload management in Indian cricket. The focus of the conversation shifted sharply after Mohammed Siraj, having bowled 185.3 overs across the series, delivered a match-winning five-wicket haul on the final day.
Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar strongly criticised the decision to rest Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the fifth Test, a move that head coach Gautam Gambhir justified as part of a workload strategy. Gavaskar, however, wasn’t convinced and used the occasion to question modern cricket’s approach to player management.
“𝑰 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 ‘𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅’ 𝒈𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚,” 𝑮𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑺𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒋’𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔.
He further added that the over-reliance on resting players due to perceived fatigue could weaken the team in critical moments, especially overseas.
“Do You Think Jawans Complain?” – Gavaskar’s Message to Team India
In a scathing analogy, Gavaskar compared Indian cricketers to soldiers, highlighting the importance of playing for the nation with full commitment and pride, regardless of pain or discomfort.
“𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔,” 𝑮𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒋𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒅? 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔. 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕.”
The former opener praised Rishabh Pant, who courageously batted with a fractured foot in the fourth Test and still managed to score a fifty, showcasing immense determination and spirit.
“𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝑷𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖? 𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎,” 𝑮𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒂𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Bumrah’s Case: Injury vs. Workload
Gavaskar also clarified that Bumrah’s absence should perhaps be treated more as a genuine injury concern than merely workload management. He acknowledged that the pacer has a history of serious injuries and that context must be considered.
“𝑩𝒖𝒎𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅—𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒚. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚, 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔,” 𝑮𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
He went on to stress that while rotating players may be acceptable in home series, such strategies can be risky during overseas tours, where squad depth and balance are critical.
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