Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has opined on pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah’s workload. His comments come ahead of the fourth Test of the ongoing five-match Test series against England, scheduled to begin on Wednesday, July 23, at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester as well.

Addressing the issue, Pathan said in a video posted on his official YouTube channel (@officialIrfanPathan),  “I believe when you play cricket for India, you give it your all. When it comes to a five-over spell and you say Root has come in, you’ve bowled five overs, and you won’t bowl the sixth, that shouldn’t happen. You have to give everything. Either you give everything or you rest properly.”

“When it’s about the country, when it’s about the team, and even if it’s not about the country, at least it’s about the team. The country always matters. But when you play in the team, you are playing for your teammates. You want to give your everything for them. No one, whether on your right, left, the eleven players on the field or those sitting outside, would want anything less,” he further added.

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“You play for them first. Your biggest responsibility is to play for your team. So when I said that in commentary, I will always stand by it. The team always comes first. And when you play, you have to give everything. I’m not questioning whether he put in effort. Of course, he did. He bowled his overs. There’s no doubt about it. But where an extra push is needed for the team, you have to give it. At that point, you have to set workload aside. That’s what I believe,” he again shared.

However, Irfan Pathan also said that Jasprit Bumrah must play with full intensity and bowl a six-over spell if the team needs it, even on the final day as well. He also gave the example of England captain Ben Stokes, who bowled a similar spell on the final day of the Lord’s Test as well.

“So when Bumrah plays, he should play with full intensity and effort because we want to see him as the world’s number one. For him to stay at the top long term, it will only happen when he regularly wins matches for his team. That will happen only when, instead of stopping at five overs, you bowl that sixth over too when the team needs it, even if it’s the fifth day. Ben Stokes did it. Jofra Archer came back after four years and did it too,” Irfan Pathan concluded.