Jasprit Bumrah Clarifies Mohammad Kaif’s ‘Inaccurate’ Claim: ‘To Avoid Injury…’ | Cricket News

India’s Jasprit Bumrah ignited a fire on social media after strongly responding to former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif’s comments on his fitness and bowling strategy.

Kaif, analysing India’s use of Bumrah in the Asia Cup, suggested the pacer was deliberately avoiding death overs to protect himself from injuries. Bumrah refuted the claim on X, formerly Twitter, clarifying that Kaif’s analysis was inaccurate and not the first time he had been wrong about him.

Rather than splitting Bumrah’s overs across the powerplay, middle, and death – something he often did under Rohit Sharma- Bumrah bowled three consecutive overs with the new ball.

Kaif noted this change and suggested that under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy and Gautam Gambhir’s strategic leadership, India might be overprotecting Bumrah.

He argued that Bumrah preferred bowling when “warmed up” and skipping the high-pressure death overs could hurt India against stronger teams in the World Cup. Kaif suggested that Bumrah’s absence in the final 14 overs was a significant relief for batters, hinting that this tactical shift might weaken India’s finishing strength.

What Did Mohammad Kaif Say About Jasprit Bumrah?

“Bumrah under Rohit would generally bowl overs 1, 13, 17, 19. Under Surya, in Asia Cup, he bowled a three-over spell at the start. To avoid injury, Bumrah these days prefers to bowl while his body is warmed up. 1 over of Bumrah in the remaining 14 overs is a huge relief for batters. Against stronger teams at World Cup, this could hurt India,” Kaif posted on X.

Bumrah’s response was sharp and dismissive, asserting that Kaif’s assumptions did not reflect reality.

“Inaccurate before inaccurate again,” Bumrah posted.

On the field, Bumrah did well with the new ball in the Super 4 clash against Bangladesh, troubling the top order. In fact, Team India has used Shivam Dube and Kuldeep Yadav to close innings in Bumrah’s absence during the death overs, a strategy that has kind of worked so far.

The fact is, BCCI has managed Bumrah carefully since his back injury during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He missed significant cricket, including two Tests against England, and returned to T20I cricket after nearly a year on the sidelines. His participation in the Asia Cup, too, had caused concern.