Mumbai: At a time when there’s a raging debate amongst former cricketers and journalists around India’s ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s workload, following his appearance in just three out of five Tests in the recently held series in England to manage his workload, former Team India physio John Gloster has offered an interesting perspective. Replying to a question on whether Bumrah should be given leeway in choosing which games he would play in a series/tournament, Glosters said, “Look, I know that’s a very controversial topic at the moment, and I’ll happily tackle most controversial topics. I think that the athlete at the end of the day knows themselves better than anybody.” Speaking at a book launch at the Cricket Club of India on Monday, Gloster said, “Most athletes these days who have good sports teams around them are taking advice from those people. But intuitively, most athletes know what’s right and what’s wrong. And he is a mature athlete. He’s a smart individual who knows exactly what he’s doing.” The 31-year-old Bumrah took 14 wickets in three Tests at 26.00 in the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, and was under fire for missing the crucial third and fifth Tests of the series due to workload management. Overall, Bumrah has taken 219 wickets in 48 Tests at 19.82, with 15 five-wicket hauls, and is set to feature in the Asia Cup, which Gloster felt “should not be a problem, since the tournament will be played in a T20 format and Bumrah has to bowl only four overs in a match.” Making a pertinent point about the need to manage Bumrah’s workload to ensure that he lasts for more years rather than just focusing on how he could play more and more matches in a series, which could put him at risk of burnout or injury, Gloster said, “And I think nine times out of ten, mature athletes who have good support are going to make the right decisions. And what we need to think about is not Bumrah for the next series or the series after that. We’ve got to think about Bumrah for the next two to three years.”
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“In Jasprit’s case, he had significant success when he came back. With the type of injury that he had, or has, he always knew that there were going to be times when it would need to be managed differently in order for him to continue to have success and stay playing at the highest level. And it is through good counsel that he comes to terms with that.” Gloster pointed out that it was crucial in Bumrah’s case that he received the right guidance in terms of his workload and injury management, which meant that a lot of times, there could be “others taking decisions for him,” in order for him to have a long and successful career in international cricket. “He knows that his career and the length of his career, his sporting longevity, is going to be through sound counsel and sound advice. This is what it’s going to be like. And he knows that there are going to be situations where others are going to have to make decisions for him in order for him to have the best and longest career that he’s going to have,” Gloster said.
