"If he cares a lot about Test cricket, he will make sure that he plays more of Test cricket" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Jasprit Bumrah's long-format future
Sanjay Manjrekar feels Jasprit Bumrah needs to prioritize Test cricket over unimportant white-ball games if he cares about the longest format.
Bumrah registered figures of 6/61 in 13.5 overs as India bowled out South Africa for 176 in their second innings in Cape Town on Thursday, January 4. The visitors then chased down the 79-run fourth-innings target with seven wickets to spare to draw parity in the two-match series.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Manjrekar was asked about his thoughts on how much Test cricket Bumrah has in him, to which he responded:
"It's up to him really. If he cares a lot about Test cricket, he will make sure that he plays more of Test cricket and less of some of the random white-ball bilateral cricket that gets played."
The former India batter opined that the time used for the preceding three-match ODI series could have been better utilized by playing an additional Test for the Freedom Trophy. He elaborated:
"I have a lot of time for private leagues but that three-match ODI series (before the Tests), ask people who are cricket fans, what is the result of that series or who played well in the first ODI. Nobody will remember but just imagine if that time was used to have a third Test match."
Manjrekar added that Bumrah needs to follow in Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's footsteps if he wants a long Test career. He said:
"It's not even the 50-over World Cup year. So, it's up to Jasprit Bumrah. If he wants to play Test cricket, he will have to actually preserve his body. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma prioritized Test cricket and that's why they have got so many Test matches under their belt."
India's next Test series will be a five-game affair against England at home starting later this month. Bumrah, who has played only four Tests at home, is unlikely to play each of those matches, especially considering that the spinners will potentially rule the roost in India.
"The way he bowled this morning, it was really good to watch" - Piyush Chawla on whether the best of Jasprit Bumrah was seen in the South Africa series
![Jasprit Bumrah (left) and Dean Elgar were jointly awarded the Player of the Series. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/01/bbdc3-17044365200482-1920.jpg?w=500)
Piyush Chawla was asked whether the best of Jasprit Bumrah was seen in the Test series against South Africa, to which he replied:
"The way he bowled this (Day 2) morning, it was really good to watch. The best part was when the main batter was batting, he was hitting those difficult lengths and when the tailenders came in, he started bowling up, because it's difficult for the tailenders to drive those balls which are moving around a bit."
Bumrah picked up five of the seven Proteas wickets that fell on Day 2 of the Cape Town Test. He dismissed David Bedingham in the day's first over and subsequently got rid of Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, and Lungi Ngidi.