AB de Villiers Slams 'Mismanagement' As Gambhir Restricts Bumrah To 3 Tests

On the tour of England, one of the toughest places for the Indian team to win a Test series, the fact that the tourists would have Jasprit Bumrah, arguably the best pacer in the world, available for just three games out of five, is baffling for many. Bumrah, who featured in almost the entire Indian Premier League (IPL) season for the Mumbai Indians, has been allotted just three games against England. India's head coach Gautam Gambhir already made the decision clear, making many wonder why lesser-important games couldn't be removed from Bumrah's schedule to manage his workload.

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers, who also had to manage the workload of Dale Steyn during their active days, isn't onboard with the Indian team management's decision over the call to give Bumrah just three matches on the 5-Test tour.

"He is probably the top bowler in the world in all formats right now. So, it's very difficult to decide a way to rest him," De Villiers said on his YouTube channel.

"But in my opinion, Test cricket is the ultimate form of the game. And this Test series probably would've been the one, in my opinion, to get him ready for all five Test matches."

Citing Steyn's example, De Villiers said that Bumrah should've ideally been rested in lesser-important T20Is and ODIs.

"That's what we used to do with Dale (Steyn). Rest him in lesser important T20 and ODI series and get him ready for the big Test series against Australia, England, and India away from home... New Zealand to a certain extent, depending on the rankings at that time," he explained.

The former Proteas captain even threw the word 'mismanagement' by the Indian team as he questioned what led to the team taking such a call.

"So, I don't know if it was mismanagement or perhaps because he recently got back from injury, sort of saw the IPL as the warmup phase," he said.

"Maybe, went to the surgeon, who let him know, 'You can't play the five Test matches.' So, I mean you got to respect that, and at the end of the day, it's up to Team India to sort of manage him well," he added.

"It doesn't get bigger than that, guys, except for maybe the WTC final."

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