Unreal hate campaign/PR against Bumrah: does India deserve mavericks?

[jalebi_bhai]

Just to play shaitan's advocate, maybe it's because we have a better recent record in Tests without him? RoKo, Ashwin are no longer there to be scapegoated in the format and our bowlers are winning games without him, with Siraj performing exceptionally well in his absence.

 

We also won the CT 2025 without him, with RoKo taking turns to step up in the knockouts. Gabba 21 was also breached in his absence.

 

Whether we like to admit it or not, Bumrah has a pretty poor record in the clutch, T20 WC 2024 being an exception.

 

There is no justification for vitriolic criticism. However, if we want superstar culture to end, if we want to purge seniority culture, no one should be above constructive criticism. Sab ek barabar, no sacred cows.

 

SRT, MSD, Rohit, VK have all been bajaoed by Indian fans, why should Bumrah be an exception?

[Serpico]

13 minutes ago, jalebi_bhai said:

Just to play shaitan's advocate, maybe it's because we have a better recent record in Tests without him? RoKo, Ashwin are no longer there to be scapegoated in the format and our bowlers are winning games without him, with Siraj performing exceptionally well in his absence.

 

We also won the CT 2025 without him, with RoKo taking turns to step up in the knockouts. Gabba 21 was also breached in his absence.

 

Whether we like to admit it or not, Bumrah has a pretty poor record in the clutch, T20 WC 2024 being an exception.

but is correlation really causation? he took more wickets than every other bowler in both the matches we lost this series. Can we blame him for other bowlers' failures? Or should we expect him to take 10+ wickets in every match he plays in to be considered clutch? RoKo were blamed because they failed with the rest of the team in our losses, not just because they were part of the losing team. If Kohli hit centuries in the 3 tests we lost in Aus, do you think people would have still blamed him?

[New guy]

48 minutes ago, jalebi_bhai said:

Just to play shaitan's advocate, maybe it's because we have a better recent record in Tests without him? RoKo, Ashwin are no longer there to be scapegoated in the format and our bowlers are winning games without him, with Siraj performing exceptionally well in his absence.

 

We also won the CT 2025 without him, with RoKo taking turns to step up in the knockouts. Gabba 21 was also breached in his absence.

 

Whether we like to admit it or not, Bumrah has a pretty poor record in the clutch, T20 WC 2024 being an exception.

 

There is no justification for vitriolic criticism. However, if we want superstar culture to end, if we want to purge seniority culture, no one should be above constructive criticism. Sab ek barabar, no sacred cows.

 

SRT, MSD, Rohit, VK have all been bajaoed by Indian fans, why should Bumrah be an exception?

Valjd criticism is fine, agenda and deliberately presenting half truth is not.

 

 

 

We won Gabba because we chased record overseas chase of 329 runs, we lost 3rd test here because we couldn't chase 190, how is bumrah to blame? 

 

Also that clutch thing is bullshit, how many players in entire history of cricket have performed in "clutch" specifically against Australia in a final? How many have done it on first try? 

 

Ponting played in 5 World cup finals and failed in 4, yet not a single Aussies abuses him for it but unlike our ehsaan faramosh fans Aussies fans praise him for the one success.

 

The opposite of superstar culture is not deliberately twisting truth and attacking  players for things outside their control like team being unable to chase 190 runs 

Edited August 8, 2025 by New guy

[figo6762]

Bumrah is a unicorn period …  when he does well , it’s amazing to watch .. 

 

but …. Teams cannot be built around X factors .. they have be built around workhorses who can show up game after game … Bumrah is just the cream on top which makes the dessert sweeter .. 

 

will blame selectors the most to put Bumrah at a pedestal and build a bowling team around him .. BS thought process .. same thing with Pant to certain extent , he’s just so wild you can’t build a middle order team around him .. 

 

dont thibk Siraj is the answer either . We need Pat Cummins type bowler to build the bowling attach around  .. which I don’t think we have .. 

 

[jalebi_bhai]

2 hours ago, Serpico said:

but is correlation really causation? he took more wickets than every other bowler in both the matches we lost this series. Can we blame him for other bowlers' failures? Or should we expect him to take 10+ wickets in every match he plays in to be considered clutch? RoKo were blamed because they failed with the rest of the team in our losses, not just because they were part of the losing team. If Kohli hit centuries in the 3 tests we lost in Aus, do you think people would have still blamed him?

 

 

Here are the numbers. Now you tell me.

 

One thing is team winning without Bumrah. Different matter when other bowlers are actually stepping up in his absence and the results are better. 

 

Even if he's performing well but the results are worse, then he is proving to be a net negative only. If the preferential treatment given to him is affecting other's performance, then it is correct to ask questions.

 

We drew this series by winning games he skipped/rested. CT was also won without him. 

 

In nearly a decade worth of ICC tournaments, Bumrah has stepped up in the clutch maybe once or twice max. It is definitely something to look further into. 

[jalebi_bhai]

47 minutes ago, figo6762 said:

Bumrah is a unicorn period …  when he does well , it’s amazing to watch .. 

 

but …. Teams cannot be built around X factors .. they have be built around workhorses who can show up game after game … Bumrah is just the cream on top which makes the dessert sweeter .. 

 

will blame selectors the most to put Bumrah at a pedestal and build a bowling team around him .. BS thought process .. same thing with Pant to certain extent , he’s just so wild you can’t build a middle order team around him .. 

 

dont thibk Siraj is the answer either . We need Pat Cummins type bowler to build the bowling attach around  .. which I don’t think we have .. 

 

 

This 100%

 

Same applies to Pandya as well. Luckily we now have Nitish Reddy to keep him on his toes.

[vvvslaxman]

27 minutes ago, jalebi_bhai said:

 

 

Here are the numbers. Now you tell me.

 

One thing is team winning without Bumrah. Different matter when other bowlers are actually stepping up in his absence and the results are better. 

 

Even if he's performing well but the results are worse, then he is proving to be a net negative only. If the preferential treatment given to him is affecting other's performance, then it is correct to ask questions.

 

We drew this series by winning games he skipped/rested. CT was also won without him. 

 

In nearly a decade worth of ICC tournaments, Bumrah has stepped up in the clutch maybe once or twice max. It is definitely something to look further into. 

 

I am not sure India failing to chase a modest total of 192,  Jaiswal puuting down 4 sitters have anything to do with Bumrah's presence.  May be you can say India makes more mistakes coincidentally when Bumrah is playing.  

[Serpico]

26 minutes ago, jalebi_bhai said:

 

 

Here are the numbers. Now you tell me.

 

One thing is team winning without Bumrah. Different matter when other bowlers are actually stepping up in his absence and the results are better. 

 

Even if he's performing well but the results are worse, then he is proving to be a net negative only. If the preferential treatment given to him is affecting other's performance, then it is correct to ask questions.

 

We drew this series by winning games he skipped/rested. CT was also won without him. 

 

In nearly a decade worth of ICC tournaments, Bumrah has stepped up in the clutch maybe once or twice max. It is definitely something to look further into. 

again, you are blindly applying the filter without analyzing the teams and venues. Bumrah is typically rested against easier opposition and at home and rarely rested in SENA. 

 

Since Bumrah's debut, India played 40 tests in SENA out of which Bumrah played 34. Outside SENA, India played 36 out of which Bumrah only played 14, so you tell me which games are easier to win? 

[tapandrun]

42 minutes ago, jalebi_bhai said:

 

 

Here are the numbers. Now you tell me.

 

One thing is team winning without Bumrah. Different matter when other bowlers are actually stepping up in his absence and the results are better. 

 

Even if he's performing well but the results are worse, then he is proving to be a net negative only. If the preferential treatment given to him is affecting other's performance, then it is correct to ask questions.

 

We drew this series by winning games he skipped/rested. CT was also won without him. 

 

In nearly a decade worth of ICC tournaments, Bumrah has stepped up in the clutch maybe once or twice max. It is definitely something to look further into. 

Mentioned this a long time back about this didnt had the number but teams were able to shutdown bhumrah's threat before the t20i wc win.

Not sure why that is, is it because he if he can not do it we can not do it kind of mentality in the team. Or may be because when he is rested its when Ind already has a favourable match up and bhumrah only plays an even contest.

 

Is he special yes, is he point of diff. yes but need to add wins in ICC events or may be big SENA tours. May be Ind needs one more bowler who can soften up the batters.

 

Mcgrath had Lee, Wasim had couple Akthar in later part and Waqar in intial stages. Cummins has Starc. But for bhumrah he has to do it all by himself. 

Even when Ind had a v.good fast bowling line up they lacked some1 who can soften up the batting line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 8, 2025 by tapandrun

[Gollum]

Let us just stick to test cricket. 

 

Bumrah had a big role in 2018-19 and 2020-21 BGTs, toughest challenge in world cricket. 

 

He played a big part in the 2 test wins in 2021 England.

 

He was MOTS in the 2023-24 series in RSA, ahead of a champion local boy like Rabada. 

 

In home series against England 2024, played on pattas, he picked 19-20 wickets in 4 tests, and no other quick from either side was within touching distance. 

 

MOTM in Perth win last year. In fact his performance in that tour drew comparisons with Hadlee's one man show in the 80s (that Aussies team was very weak btw), from the mouths of Aussie experts/players/fans. He was ready to give up his physical health for the team's cause, that is the kind of selfless legend he is. 

 

Where does this miconception come that India performs worse in his absence? Don't look at numbers without context, he missed most of our home tests where we didn't need him, because our spin ARs would be more than enough. 

 

No player is flawless, not even Bradman. Bumrah too has flaws, but he he has been correcting them and proving his critics wrong.  People doubted his clutchness in ICC tourneys, won us the T20 WC averaging 8, E/R 4.5, a tournament we had no business winning. People doubted whether he could win tests in the absence of support cast, he did it all alone in Perth last year. He will keep proving naysayers wrong. He will do that again next year in NZ, mark this post....will finally conquer his nemesis and give us one of our most famous series wins. 

 

David Lloyd says Bumrah is the greatest fast bowler he has ever seen, and that old man has seen Lillee, Roberts, Hadlee, Marshall, Ambrose, McGrath, Akram, Steyn etc. in their pomp. He is usually not charitable in praise when it comes to Indian cricketers. And here we have champus like Kaif and Irffan Pathan questioning him. 

Edited August 8, 2025 by Gollum

[Gollum]

Sure, team has won 2 tests here, 20-21 Gabba in absence of Bumrah. Great achievement, we should hail all the players involved. 

 

But the remaining 9 tests in SENA we have won with Bumrah in the XI, why does nobody talk about that? 

[BacktoCricaddict]

4 minutes ago, Gollum said:

Sure, team has won 2 tests here, 20-21 Gabba in absence of Bumrah. Great achievement, we should hail all the players involved. 

 

But the remaining 9 tests in SENA we have won with Bumrah in the XI, why does nobody talk about that? 

Jazbaa. Adrenaline. We get caught up (me included) in the emotional high of seeing the team pulling off something in such dramatic circumstances. That they were both highly meaningful nail-biting last test wins gets the adrenaline pumping, and adrenaline moments are etched stronger in our memories.

[jalebi_bhai]

21 minutes ago, Serpico said:

again, you are blindly applying the filter without analyzing the teams and venues. Bumrah is typically rested against easier opposition and at home and rarely rested in SENA. 

 

Since Bumrah's debut, India played 40 tests in SENA out of which Bumrah played 34. Outside SENA, India played 36 out of which Bumrah only played 14, so you tell me which games are easier to win? 

 

If you even take home and away together, we are a poorer team with Bumrah against tough opposition.

 

[BacktoCricaddict]

Just now, jalebi_bhai said:

 

If you even take home and away together, we are a poorer team with Bumrah against tough opposition.

 

But clearly his own numbers suggest that he doesn't make the team poorer. Some other dynamic is at play. 

[jalebi_bhai]

Again, the issue is that others excel in his absence. It's almost to the point that accommodating Bumrah handicaps the rest of the bowlers because of all the preferential treatment given to Boom.

[AKane]

I think the average level of Bumrah is much higher than the average level of Siraj.

 

However the peak level of Siraj ( happens once in a while ) is higher than the peak level of Bumrah.

 

That is why the stunning victories have Siraj in them - he also has more endurance than Bumrah.

 

Why Siraj does not seem to perform at peak when bowling together with Bumrah is a different matter.

[jalebi_bhai]

1 minute ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

But clearly his own numbers suggest that he doesn't make the team poorer. Some other dynamic is at play. 

His individual numbers probably remain good, but is it worth it if other bowlers are handicapped?

 

Let's say we have a batter who only does well at 4. He is brilliant at 4, but hopeless otherwise. Playing him at 4 results in other batters being used sub-optimally and out of position. Is it worth having such a player in the team? Are his individual runs a justified trade-off?

[Gollum]

3 minutes ago, jalebi_bhai said:

Again, the issue is that others excel in his absence. It's almost to the point that accommodating Bumrah handicaps the rest of the bowlers because of all the preferential treatment given to Boom.

I don't understand what preference? Do fielders catch better when Bumrah is the bowler? Are more DRS reviews reserved for Bumrah? Is Bumrah brought back only to clean the tail?

 

Couple of guys showed stats here, where Bumrah's workload is higher than even Siraj's in recent years, despite lesser number of innings. A strike bowler like him is made to bowl 20-25 overs a day....any problem for the captain, he closes his eyes and gives the ball to Bumrah. A Ferrari being handled like a truck in BGT is the reason we are here, where Bumrah's workload has to be managed from now on. Not preference, straight up abuse bolo where this man's physical and mental limits were tested to breaking point. 

[jalebi_bhai]

18 minutes ago, Gollum said:

Sure, team has won 2 tests here, 20-21 Gabba in absence of Bumrah. Great achievement, we should hail all the players involved. 

 

But the remaining 9 tests in SENA we have won with Bumrah in the XI, why does nobody talk about that? 

9 wins in how many games with Boom in SENA?

[BacktoCricaddict]

2 minutes ago, jalebi_bhai said:

brilliant at 4, but hopeless otherwise.

I don't think this is a valid analogy.

 

My approach would be to find out what can be done to raise the others' performance in his presence.