Former South African cricket legend AB de Villiers has strongly criticised the Indian team management’s decision to field premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah in only three out of five Test matches during the upcoming England tour. De Villiers expressed disbelief over the move, terming it questionable and hinting at “mismanagement” in how Bumrah’s workload is being handled.
India’s new head coach Gautam Gambhir has already confirmed that Bumrah will be restricted to just three Tests out of the crucial five-match series, a call that has raised eyebrows across the cricketing community. Bumrah, who played almost the entire IPL season for Mumbai Indians without signs of discomfort, is expected to sit out two matches in a series widely seen as one of the toughest overseas challenges for Team India.
“Jasprit Bumrah 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,” said de Villiers in a video on his YouTube channel.
He emphasized the stature of the Test series, saying, “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.”
Drawing parallels with South African great Dale Steyn, de Villiers said their approach was always to rest key pacers during low-stakes T20Is and ODIs, rather than during high-profile Test series like the ones against England or Australia.
“That’s what we used to do with Dale. Rest him in lesser important T20 and ODI series and get him ready for the big Test series,” he pointed out.
De Villiers questioned the logic behind giving Bumrah a full IPL workload but restricting him in a historic and competitive Test series, hinting that there could be injury-related concerns that have not been publicly detailed.
“I don’t know if it was mismanagement or because he recently got back from injury and the IPL was seen as a warm-up phase. Maybe it was a decision taken after medical consultations,” he added.
Despite his criticism, de Villiers acknowledged the team’s responsibility in managing Bumrah carefully. “At the end of the day, it’s up to Team India to manage him well,” he concluded, while noting that there are few assignments bigger than a five-Test series in England, aside from perhaps the World Test Championship final.