Ex-India all-rounder Irfan Pathan was critical of Jasprit Bumrah's involvement in the just-concluded Test series against England, intoning that the pace leader followed a "pick and choose" policy that did not appeal to him.
Prior to the initiation of the five-Test series, the BCCI had made it clear that Bumrah would not play in all the matches because of workload management.
Bumrah ultimately played three Tests and was rested for the last match, even though India was 1-2 down in the series.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Pathan mentioned there were instances when Bumrah could have been more aggressive, recalling the instance of the Lord's Test where he could have bowled an additional over to put pressure on Joe Root.
"There were times, such as when a sixth over was required. I mentioned this through commentary as well. Joe Root was out to him 11 times, and in that Lord's Test, Bumrah bowled five overs. A single additional over, the sixth, might have pushed further. I felt he did slow down there slightly. There was some pick-and-choose also, which I've always opposed, and that was evident too," Pathan said.
While accepting that Bumrah also had his good moments in the series, Pathan opined that the veteran pacer failed to live up to the expectations of the team.
"Bumrah will receive six out of ten. Why? The reason is that when you are a senior player, there is a lot of pressure on you to win matches. He played in three Tests, and India didn't win any of them."
Looking at Bumrah's performance in the first Test, Pathan noted that while he took five wickets in the first innings, he failed to take a single wicket in the second innings, which was disappointing—considering the game situation.
"Let's travel back to the first Test. He got five wickets in the first innings but none in the second innings. At that moment when your leading match-winner is supposed to rise up and win the game, it's all on him to find a way, either over the wicket, around the wicket, yorkers, slower balls, bouncers, to put pressure," Pathan clarified.
He also mentioned that Bumrah's failure to perform in the Leeds Test was another instance where the pacer could not handle pressure.
"In the Leeds Test, we never saw that build-up of pressure. England scored heavily there, and Bumrah didn't pick even a single wicket, which came as a surprise. And this did not occur once," he further stated.
Pathan’s remarks reflect broader concerns about player availability and the expectations that come with senior roles in crucial Test series.
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