Reminding the world that Jasprit Bumrah alone cannot shoulder the entire bowling burden forever, Indian captain Rohot Sharma said the team is aware that others will have to raise their hands as the Australia series progresses.
Sharma said that if Bumrah did not get wickets, India would have struggled with matches. “Look, it’s good to have someone like Bumrah, but he’s not the only one who’s going to work all the time,” Sharma told a press conference.
The captain held the others equally responsible. “We saw Siraj along with Bumrah, when he took those four wickets, the responsibility was shared. We look forward to that. Bumrah will not get wickets at times. And the other guys need to step in,” he added.
The team’s batting philosophy has also continued in this way. “That’s how we talk in the batting group too, ‘x, y, z’ doesn’t always score runs. Everyone in the team understands that. It’s not just about one or two people, if you want to win a Test or a series, everyone has to put their hands up. The responsibilities have to be shared and the work has to be done, this is what I have always seen in the team,” he assured.
Sharma said he was aware of Bumrah’s workload, and in an earlier interview with Tanishq Waddy of The Indian Express, former Australian quick Shaun Tait had talked about how over-reliance on Bumrah could be a significant difference in the series between him and Pat Cummins. Mitchell Starc proved in Adelaide that he was the difference between the two sides, and Cummins even joked that Starscy didn’t let others take too many wickets.
Sharma spoke about India’s situation with Bumrah. “I keep talking to him during his spell, asking him how his body is. It’s a five-Test series and we want Bumrah to be fresh and play five Test matches. Analyzing these things is important, workload management is important. We have doctors, physios and The coaches are there, and we regularly see which bowler has more fuel. We keep talking about these things,” Sharma said.
The captain was hopeful that others would step up. “We are not playing with just one bowler, there are others who have to take responsibility. Be it Siraj, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, the famous Krishna or Nitish Reddy, these guys have only come into the team now. We need to convince them too. When they play sports, they need confidence and it’s my job to give them that,” he said.
Sharma said India was not unaware of the ‘Bumrah+’ challenge. “There’s always a plan. Bumrah can’t be expected to bowl from both ends from dawn to dusk. It’s important to manage the bowlers. We talk to the bowlers, then take a decision,” he added.