Workload management a silly excuse to take break from the game: Sunil Gavaskar

The privilege of playing for the country, especially the highest form of the game, Test match cricket, should never be taken for granted by anybody.

Ready to fire: Jasprit Bumrah has made it clear he loves playing for India, and he must have been amused by all these reports from armchair experts about his workload. | Photo Credit: K. R. Deepak

The subject of this column was two-fold: the ICC Under-19 Men’s World Cup Final and the Indian squad for the remaining three Test matches against England.

With the Australian junior team walloping the Indian juniors and ensuring that they continued the winning tempo set by their seniors a few months back when they beat India in the ICC Men’s World Cup final, the column about that can wait for another time. So here are a few thoughts on the Indian squad for the remaining three Test matches.

Generally, the Indian team for the next Test is announced at the end of the previous Test match. However, since there were a few questions about the fitness of a couple of players who had missed the second Test match, the selection was delayed to get more news about their recovery from these injuries. There was also uncertainty about the availability of Virat Kohli for the rest of the series.

There were also reports in some outlets that Jasprit Bumrah would be rested because of the so-called workload management. Fortunately, that hasn’t happened, and Bumrah continues to be the vice-captain of the team. The series is still level, and there’s the psychological advantage that Bumrah holds on the English batters with his destructive bowling.

So, to use that stupid word workload makes zero sense, especially when you see that in the two Test matches that have been played so far, Bumrah has bowled one delivery less than 58 overs. That translates to an average of around 15 overs per innings so far. Now, nobody in their right mind would even suggest that this means he has been over-bowled.

Yet these outlets, wanting to fill in the more-than-a-week’s gap between the Test matches, wanted some juicy stuff and added some masala to their stories.

That nine-day gap between the second and third Tests is enough rest even for a bowler who would have bowled double the number of overs Bumrah has bowled so far. With both Tests ending in four days, the players have had an extra day off as well. So, there really should be no talk of workload.

Bumrah is playing for his country’s cricket team, and he as well as the others should be prepared to do the extra work that may be asked of them. The privilege of playing for the country, especially the highest form of the game, Test match cricket, should never be taken for granted by anybody, however big he may be.

Bumrah has made it clear he loves playing for India, and he must have been amused by all these reports from armchair experts about his workload. If anything, when the workload factor comes in, then the fitness of the player should be questioned.

If, at the highest level of the game, a player, be a batter or a bowler, is not fit to play all five Test matches with the generous week-long breaks between the second and third Test matches and between the fourth and fifth Tests, then he should not be picked for any of the Tests and a young, hungry-to-make-a-mark player be brought in.

For far too long, some players have taken Indian cricket for granted and taken breaks on a whim, with this silly workload reason as an excuse. All they show by that is an unhealthy disregard for Indian cricket and that they are keeping themselves above Indian cricket.

Most of these players are certainties and know that even if they don’t play a game or two, their places will be secure, and they can come back immediately if they make themselves available. Oh, for a selection committee that will get up and tell them, ‘Ok, take a break, but then, don’t expect to be picked when you feel like it. We will decide if we need you or not’.

If only these players remembered that they are what they are because of Indian cricket. Their name, fame, wealth, and even millions of fans are because of Indian cricket. So, some loyalty to Indian cricket and their millions of fans should be considered before taking casual leave from the game.

And workload be damned.