It has been totally in bad taste. The Jasprit Bumrah criticism this Indian Premier League (IPL) season. One has to separate the wheat from the chaff. He can’t be treated the same way as the others, the mortal ones.
Coming up with disrespectful remarks or even worrying over his form for Mumbai Indians — which has been the case so far in IPL 2026 — is just a lack of real understanding. Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Deep Dasgupta and Krishnamachari Srikkanth are some of the names that have been mildly, piquantly or analytically critical at different points, but frankly, it shouldn’t matter at all if he doesn’t perform in line with his reputation.
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It’s easy to forget that Bumrah is prone to injuries. Twice in his 10-year career so far, he has been severely injured, and it took him a while before he could come back and even longer before he could return to his best.
Others keep forgetting it; for, it’s easy to pass remarks. Bumrah doesn’t forget. He knows how precious his body is and how important it is for him to stay fit and serve India — his first priority by miles – even though the IPL helped him a lot to become a household name in the early part of his career.
Bowling, compared to batting, is a lot more challenging. Let’s not forget just weeks before the IPL, India played a super high-intensity tournament — the 2026 T20 World Cup, that is. And if not for Bumrah, especially in India’s last three matches against the West Indies (a virtual quarterfinal) , England (semi-final) and New Zealand (final), India may not have been able to defend their title. Who can say?
Particularly against the West Indies and England, India wouldn’t have won without special bowling from Bumrah. His two wickets in an over set back the Caribbean team in the middle overs, and his death-overs bowling against England, having already removed the dangerous Harry Brook early on, were the reasons India went on to win back-to-back trophies.
As said before, the life of a fast bowler ain’t easy. It’s not easy to bowl day in and day out in scorching heat and at one’s best. What’s the point of taking the IPL so seriously if it can jeopardise his career? Even if he is not bowling his 100%, he should be exonerated.
Come on, guys! He doesn’t deserve any of that!
Bumrah is a rare breed. By far, he is India’s greatest fast bowler to date. There is just Kapil Dev who merits some kind of comparison with him. He is miles ahead of the rest.
Since when has the IPL become more important than international cricket? Franchises, fans and experts need to understand this. One is quite parochial when one is worried about the 32-year-old’s 4 wickets in 13 games at an economy rate of 8.37 so far, including his 1/26 against Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday night in another defeat for the already eliminated Mumbai Indians, To take it a little further, if he is putting in his 100% and not getting the desired results, that’s also okay.
IPL is not international cricket. And there he plays three formats. Not easy by any means. He needs to be particularly saved for Test cricket. No way could a generational player be more motivated playing in the IPL. So, Bumrah should be spared. Criticising him for a league is just not right.
