No One Remembers Wickets Taken In The IPL: Dilip Vengsarkar's Big Take On Jasprit Bumrah

The five-match test series between England and India ended in a draw, 2-2. After this series, Mohammed Siraj was praised by all the cricket fraternity for his performance and managing his workload over the years. His performance was outstanding in the whole series, in which he took 2 five-wicket hauls. In the final test at the Oval, he took a five-wicket haul in the second innings, helping India win the test by a margin of 6 runs.

However, on the other hand, questions were raised on the star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who managed to play only three matches in the series in order to manage his workload. This decision of his raised many questions about him.

To which now former Indian skipper Dilip Vengsarkar feels that Bumrah should have missed the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 in order to prioritize the test series. This started when he played all five test matches against Australia at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the series' last test at Sydney, he got a back spasm due to which he couldn't play competitive cricket for almost 3 months, including the Champions Trophy 2025. He made his comeback in the IPL against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Before the start of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, it was already announced that Bumrah will be playing only three tests.

To this former skipper, Vengsarkar said,

"Considering the importance of the India versus England Test series and his fragile back, Bumrah should have been told by the BCCI, selectors, and the Indian team management to miss IPL 2025. It was very important that we had a fully fit and refreshed Bumrah for this iconic series."

"If I were the India chief selector, I would have convinced Mukesh Ambani (Mumbai Indians owner) and Bumrah that it was important for Bumrah to miss the IPL for the England series or play a lesser number of matches in the IPL. I'm sure that they would have agreed to do so."

Who remembers the runs and wickets taken in the IPL?

Further, he said that Bumrah should have given more importance to Test cricket, as he took two five-wicket hauls at Headingley and Lord's, as no one remembers the runs and wickets in IPL.

He said,

"Who remembers the runs and wickets taken in the IPL? However, people will remember Mohammed Siraj's lion-hearted performance in this series, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rishabh Pant's sublime batting, and Washington Sundar's superb all-round performance."

Further, he said,

"It was a series for the ages, and I wish Bumrah was available for almost all the tests. We could have won the series if that was the case."

"You can't blame Bumrah for missing matches at times. We must remember that Bumrah has undergone back surgery. His back is vulnerable, and we must be cautious with him. You can't question his commitment to the country. He has given his all whenever he has played for India. I hope he returns to India after adequate rest and when fully fit."