The former off-spinner of the Indian side, Harbhajan Singh, has put his finger on the team management for the back spasm injury of their premier pace bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, during the first innings of the fifth and final Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), which ruled him out from bowling in the second innings.
Harbhajan Singh revealed that the blue brigade’s overdependency on Bumrah was the biggest reason for the pace losing all its fuel by the end of a long red-ball series. The 31-year-old said he felt discomfort during the first innings of the New Year’s Test and decided to rest to respect his body.
“He was used like you squeezed juice from sugarcane. It was like ‘Travis Head has come, give the ball to Bumrah, Marnus has come, give the ball to Bumrah, Steve Smith has come, give the ball to Bumrah.” The experienced bowler expressed this in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
Harbhajan Singh was disappointed with India’s selection of two spinners in the Sydney Test
The depth of the injury is yet to be known, but a few reports have claimed that the veteran fast bowler might end up missing the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, which is just around 42 days away. This could possibly be a major blow to the Indian team, which is already without injured Mohammad Shami, while Mohammad Siraj looked drained by the end of the SCG encounter.
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Bumrah finished the five-match Test series as the leading wicket-taker with the help of 32 wickets in nine innings at an average of 13.06 and a strike rate of 28.37 with the help of a couple of four-wicket hauls and three five-wicket hauls at the best bowling figure of 6/76 in an innings.
“How many overs will Bumrah bowl? He has been reduced to such a condition that he was not available at the end. If he had been there, Australia may have won the fifth Test, but they would have lost eight wickets, and it would have been tough for them. You broke his back and the management should have decided on how many overs he should be given.” Harbhajan Singh questioned the management.
On the eve of the fixture, the head coach of the tourists, Gautam Gambhir, refused to share their playing eleven and reckoned that they would take a look at the surface and then decide which would be their strongest side.
Harbhajan Singh wasn’t happy with the final eleven for the fifth Test as they played two spinners looking at the history of the Sydney surface rather than being proactive and assessing the 22-yeard, which was suitable for pace bowling.
Ravindra Jadeja rolled his arms for just three overs in the first innings, giving away 0/12, while Washington Sundar came into the attack on what was proved to be the last over of the game. Even Nathan Lyon, the home spinner, bowled just six overs across two innings.
“The team selection was not right. Two spinners were played on a spicy pitch, you saw green patches. It is beyond my understanding that despite playing so much cricket and watching so much cricket, you do not understand such a small thing. What to do on such pitch?” Harbhajan Singh highlighted in the video.
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The veteran also claimed that the aim for the selection was perhaps to stretch the batting line-up a little more.
“The gentleman who has gone there and sitting there together if he is not able to understand this thing then, I don’t know what he is doing. What is the point of having two spinners on this pitch? Your spinners did bowl very little, you are just making the batting line-up longer. It is not right; they are just stuck in their stubbornness. This is not a T20 format, this is Test cricket.” Harbhajan Singh concluded.