Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has shown his surprise and sadness over Jasprit Bumrah being trolled for managing his workload during the recently concluded Test series against England. He added that fans have swayed from asking the pace bowler to be made the captain before the series to criticizing him brutally after the series as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “It was being said that India couldn’t have a better captain than Jasprit Bumrah. It was being asked why bowlers can’t become captains, as he was vice-captain under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy and had captained in Perth and won the match as well, so he should become the captain,” Chopra said. “This is how it started, and this is how it’s going – trolling, that when he plays, the team loses, and doesn’t take full responsibility when he plays, which means from Boom Boom Bumrah, our fans have become gumrah (gone astray). I am very, very surprised and sorry.”

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“We are talking about a generational talent who is head and shoulders above the rest. He is the best bowler in the world right now across formats. If Bumrah plays only three matches, let him play. If workload management says that, without breaking down, I can keep Bumrah playing in important matches, I will do whatever it takes,” he again shared.

However, Aakash Chopra also shared that the trolling made him feel ashamed, stating that Jasprit Bumrah has bowled more overs and taken more wickets than Mohammed Siraj despite playing nine Tests fewer than Siraj in the last five years as well.

“I was going through his performances, and I was feeling ashamed of where we have reached as a cricketing fan fraternity. No cricketer is talking like that. We talk about Mohammed Siraj being our workhorse, but when I see the stats of fast bowlers who have bowled more than 1000 overs in Test matches since 2020, Jasprit Bumrah has played nine matches fewer than Mohammed Siraj,” he said.

“He has played 67 and Mohammed Siraj has played 76, but Jasprit Bumrah has bowled 1106 overs and Mohammed Siraj has bowled 1069. So he has bowled more while playing nine fewer matches. Of course, his wickets (157) are more than Siraj’s (123). If I see the entire list, only four bowlers – Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Tim Southee and James Anderson – have bowled more than him. Interestingly, if we talk about wickets, only two guys are ahead of him – Pat Cummins (170) and Mitchell Starc (162). These are Bradmanesque numbers. How can you troll him?” Aakash Chopra concluded.