• Source:JND
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Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy: Indian speedster Mohammed Siraj, who gained prominence for his stellar performance during India's tour of England, stated that the decision to rest talismanic Jasprit Bumrah in the final test (Oval) was required. Siraj also stated that Bumrah, who underwent a major surgery for his back in the past, could have aggravated his back injury if he pushed himself to play the match.

Bumrah's workload management has been a centre of debate for a while. There are discussions around Bumrah's availability for all the matches of the series, even if he is named in the squad. Bumrah, who has been named in the ongoing test series against West Indies, has played the first Test, but there are questions around if he will play the second game or not.

Interestingly, Indian captain Shubman Gill stated that Bumrah's availability will be based on a match-to-match basis. Also, Bumrah featured in three out of five test matches.

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India, which will play three ODIs and five T20Is in the upcoming tour to Australia, have not named Bumrah in the 50-over series.

Amidst all this, Bumrah has faced a lot of criticism on social media. However, Siraj, who refers to him as 'Bumrah bhai', stood for his bowling partner, explaining his side of the story.

“Bumrah bhai does not worry about outside opinion. He had a serious back injury and a big surgery. Had he bowled in that match, one cannot say whether he would have bowled again or not if he had broken down," Siraj said while speaking to The Indian Express.

“It is that serious. That injury is very sensitive. His bowling action is very difficult. He is such an important bowler for India, and his availability is so important, from the Asia Cup to next year’s World Cup and so on," Siraj added.

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Siraj made his presence felt even better in the absence of Bumrah, as he emerged as the 'player of the series' in the England tour.