Irfan Pathan takes a dig at Jasprit Bumrah over 'workload management'; praises Ben Stokes's 'superhuman effort'

In a country like India where cricket is not just a sport but a religion, reactions to defeats are often sporadic. After the team's recent 22-run defeat to England at Lord's, one of the criticisms has come in an unusual manner.

 

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan went on record praising Ben Stokes for his superhuman fitness levels in bowling long spells across the Test match despite having undergone multiple surgeries over the last 12 months. While stating this, Irfan also felt that such performances tells him that 'workload management is overrated', taking a subtle dig at India's handling of Jasprit Bumrah in recent times.

 

 

"Ben Stokes bowled a marathon 9.2 over spell in the morning on day five. What a player he is. He bowls, bats and executes a crucial run out of Rishabh Pant but there is no talk of workload management. But with India it is not like that," said Pathan in his YouTube channel.

 

"Bumrah bowls five overs and waits for Joe Root to come out to bat when you need to control the game (in the second innings). It was disappointing. His workload was managed having not played at Edgbaston. When you play a match, there is no workload. You have to win at all costs. The Indian camp could have done that better."

 

Since the Test squad to England was announced in May, one of the major talking points was regarding how many matches Bumrah would be able to play in the series, considering that the medical staff had advised him against featuring in successive Tests. Head coach Gautam Gambhir had also gone on record stating that his pace spearhead would only play in three matches of the series. Consequently, Bumrah sat out of the Edgbaston Test after having played the series opener in Headingley. Now, after the loss at Lord's, it remains to be seen whether he features at Manchester or not.

 

Stokes, meanwhile, put on a stupendous show at Lord's, bowling relentlessly long spells in the heat, with his hit-the-deck style of bowling making it a much bigger effort than it seems to be. The England captain led by example and seemed fired up for the occasion. True to his trademark fighting spirit, it was Stokes' bowling effort late on the third day that kickstarted some sort of a fightback from the home side. He followed it up with a valuable knock of 33 in the second innings and topped it off with a match-defining performance in the fourth innings of the match.

 

Pathan also lauded England's other main star in the Lord's win, Jofra Archer, and felt that India could learn a trick or two from the way England's comeback man operated at critical moments of the Test match. Featuring in his first international red-ball game for England since 2021, the talismanic pacer bowled nearly 40 overs in the game, including long spells in the second innings without dropping down on his pace.

 

"Archer was playing a Test match after four years but he did not stop. He bowled a six-over spell in the morning before returning to bowl again. Ben Stokes did not think about workload at all, if he can bowl nine overs, hum toh peeche rah gaye (Indian pacers were left behind)."

 

Bumrah, though, did bowl a hefty chunk of India's overs in the game. Of India's 112 overs with the ball in the first innings, he delivered 27 of them and also bowled 16 overs out of the 62.1 that were bowled in the second innings.

 

For his heroic impact on the game, Stokes was named Player of the Match. His swagger and aggression was critical in lifting England's morale which took a hit after the heavy defeat at Edgbaston. Even at Lord's, the home side looked a mixed bag in the first three days before Stokes engineered a comeback story for the ages.

 

Whether India can comeback at Manchester or not, only time will tell but the one major question in everyone's mind for that game is - will Bumrah play or not?

 

 

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