‘He’s only a spring chicken’

Specifically on the pacer, Australian fast bowling great Glenn McGrath said it will eventually come down to Bumrah to find a way to add longevity to his career. While India have not tried to keep the 32-year-old away from Tests with regard to white-ball cricket, they have chosen to prioritise formats based on the next ICC event. The recent ODI series in England was Bumrah’s first since the 2023 World Cup, and with the next edition around the corner, they have rested him from T20Is. McGrath, though, cautioned that with the hyper-extension action, it is never easy for Bumrah.

“Well again it’s up to him what he wants. How old’s Bumrah now? 31- 32? He’s only a spring chicken. So he’s got to find a way to have a bit of longevity. He’s had a few injuries unfortunately, but he’s class, a quality bowler. Just see what he wants to do. That’s what it comes down to: whether he wants to focus on Test cricket or whether he just wants to play T20. It also depends on his body. And like I said, guys who hyper-extend their arm do place a bit more stress through that joint there. So we’ll see what the future holds,” McGrath, who is part of the MRF Pace Foundation, said on Monday.

Jasprit Bumrah in action. (FILE photo)

Injury Battle

McGrath urged fast bowlers to get used to the stress that comes with pace bowling instead of being wrapped in cotton wool to prevent frequent injury breakdowns, adding that injuries were part and parcel of a fast bowler’s life and he was “disappointed” to see quicks being preserved these days.

“It’s the nature of the beast being a fast bowler; it’s not a natural action so injuries are part of the game,” McGrath, who played 124 Tests and 250 ODIs, said. “Where I’m a little disappointed these days, and it’s probably been that way a little bit for a long time, is that they put them (fast bowlers) in cotton wool. We try to nurse them back to full fitness, and we protect them. The best way to do it is to get stronger than the stresses of fast bowling. To do a rehab program for months and months puts your fitness and your strength so far behind that you’ve got so far to catch up,” he added.

The 56-year-old advocated for the fast bowlers to do plenty of work off the field during the rehab or off-season to build the strength to last the distance. There have been concerns over whether fast bowlers return from injury stronger than they were before breaking down. And McGrath said, before they make a return from an injury lay-off, they should attain a higher level of fitness than they ever were.

Glenn McGrath in action. (FILE photo)

He cited his own example, where having suffered a serious side strain at the start of his career, he ended up having a long Test career from 1993 to 2007.

“So I’m a big fan of actually making our fast bowlers work harder off the field. Getting physically stronger and fitter that doesn’t mean bowling hours in the nets or working on the wrong things in the gym. I got stronger than the stresses of fast bowling and very rarely got injured. So instead of putting him in cotton wool, we should be actually making him unbreakable, getting him working hard. When I tore my side muscle, I lost a heap of weight. I weighed 77 kilograms, so I realised if I keep doing what I’m doing, I’m not going to last very long. That’s why I went down the train and Kevin Chevell (training), who’s working here with the boys and he made me unbreakable,” McGrath said.

India will play two more Tests after Sri Lanka, in New Zealand, before a five-Test series against Australia beginning in January 2027.