Former New Zealand pacer and seasoned commentator Simon Doull has raised concerns about Australia’s scheduling of the upcoming five-Test series against India, particularly regarding the potential exhaustion of India’s key pacer, Jasprit Bumrah. Doull believes that the series fixtures could wear Bumrah out before the final few matches, potentially affecting India’s chances.

India, in a precarious position in the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, is under immense pressure after a humiliating whitewash at the hands of New Zealand earlier this month. Rohit Sharma and his team now need to defeat Australia by a margin of at least 4-0 in the five-match series to keep their WTC final hopes alive. A 3-0 victory might not be enough, as they would have to depend on other results.

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Bumrah, India’s spearhead bowler, will be crucial to their success in Australia. However, Doull feels that Australia has strategically timed the series to counter Bumrah’s threat. He highlighted the scheduling of the first Test in Perth as a smart move, given the notoriously tough and fast nature of the pitch. Doull speculates that Australia aims to tire out Bumrah in the initial matches, forcing India to rest him in the latter stages of the tour.

Simon Doull elaborated, “What Australia have done smartly is scheduling. They know Bumrah will be a big threat, so they’ve picked the three hardest, fastest surfaces, plus the Pink-Ball Test. They want to wear him out early. He’ll bowl a lot of overs in the heat of Perth, and then again in the second pink-ball Test in Adelaide. After that, they’ll head to Brisbane, where seamers traditionally do well.”

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Doull concluded that by the time the series reaches the final two Tests, Bumrah could be overworked, and India might have to turn to other options. This strategic scheduling by Australia is a clever move to neutralize one of India’s most dangerous weapons.