Cricket: We Have Missed Bumrah A Lot In The Last 1-1.5 Years, Admits Paras Mhambrey

India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey admitted that ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been missed by the team a lot in the last one to one-and-a-half years while adding that breaks will be given to pacers, with youngsters to be given chances for creating a bench strength.

Bumrah last played for India in T20Is against Australia in September 2022, before suffering a recurrence of the back injury, which has kept him out of action since then. In April, Bumrah underwent a back surgery and is currently doing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, in order to be fit in time for ODI World Cup in October-November.

“Injuries are a very big concern. If we look at the last 1-1.5 years, Bumrah is one player we missed a lot. As of now, there haven’t been any discussions on who will play white ball or red ball. But going forward we have to give breaks to individual bowlers. The moment we give a break to a bowler, we can bring another one which will create bench strength.”

“A lot of other bowlers like Mukesh who have done well in Ranji cricket and bowlers who have been also part of the team like Avesh (Khan) and Arshdeep (Singh), there will be an opportunity to work with them,” said Mhambrey in the post-match press conference after India beat West Indies by an innings and 141 runs in the first Test at Windsor Park.

Apart from Bumrah, pacer Prasidh Krishna has been out of action since September last year due to a stress fracture in the back. After the West Indies tour ends in August, the T20I side will be touring Ireland for three matches, followed by the 50-over Asia Cup, 20-over Asian Games and then the all-important ODI World Cup at home.

The packed schedule has brought workload management of fast bowlers into the spotlight, something which Mhambrey said has been subject to numerous discussions. 

“Workload management is one of the important things we have been working on it for the last couple of years obviously we have missed Bumrah and Prasidh (Krishna), who have been part of the set-up and would have ideally got them here.”

“We have learnt from that looking at the schedule we have ahead we play a lot of different formats. In that sense workload management will be important. A lot of discussion has been going on with the captain and in the team management as well,” he added.

In the absence of Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, uncapped seamer Mukesh Kumar has been brought into the team for the tour of West Indies, on the back of fabulous performances for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy and for India A side on a few occasions.

“He’s a very interesting talent who has come through the ranks based on his hard work and performance. Plus, we had been following his performances in the last two years, like how he’s fared in Ranji Trophy. He knows the value of himself being in the Indian team. This is my opportunity to work with him and create bench strength.”

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“We have Siraj now who is bowling well to supplement him; we have Shami and Bumrah there and we need to create a bench strength even beyond that. It is a good opportunity for Mukesh to sit with the people here talk to them and learn. There are a lot of senior bowlers here for him to interact with and learn a lot about his game,” concluded Mhambrey.