Ravi Shastri Questions Ajit Agarkar's Handling Of Jasprit Bumrah's Workload: 'Akal Hona Chahiye...'

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri launched a thinly veiled attack on the current Indian team management and the chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, claiming that the current approach is falling short of the mark in strategic planning to optimise Jasprit Bumrah's abilities.

Bumrah's extensive playing schedule has been a subject of intense scrutiny, especially after his stint in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England, where he featured in three Tests.

Shastri has waded into the Bumrah workload controversy, criticising Ajit Agarkar's management of the star pacer's workload.

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“Bumrah is a dada bowler. Bumrah ko lene ke liye bhi akal hona chahiye na. (For utilising Bumrah, you need to have brains.) You made him a white-ball bowler, so how has he become a red-ball bowler?" Shastri questioned while speaking on Prabhat Khabar.

Earlier, former India spinner R Ashwin suggested a strategic realignment of Bumrah's playing plan, supporting the pacer to focus on limited-overs cricket and reserve Test appearances for select events.

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"I've got a great relationship with him. If I were anywhere near him, I'd go and tell him, you know what, just play the white ball format. Unless and until we need you, do not step into the Test side. And that's what I would tell him. But I know him personally. He loves the Test format. He wants to play as long as he can. He knows it's going to be a challenge," Ashwin said on YouTube while interacting with former South African cricketer AB de Villiers.