"From Boom Boom Bumrah, our fans have become gumrah" - Aakash Chopra on Jasprit Bumrah being trolled after ENG vs IND 2025 series

Former India player Aakash Chopra has expressed surprise and sadness over Jasprit Bumrah being trolled for managing his workload during the recently concluded series against England. He noted that fans have swayed from asking the seamer to be made the captain before the series to criticizing him brutally after the five Tests.

The five-match series between India and England ended in a 2-2 draw. Bumrah picked up 14 wickets at an average of 26.00 in three Tests, with the visitors' two wins coming in games he wasn't part of the XI.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener wondered how the fans' opinion about Bumrah changed so quickly.

"It was being said that India couldn't have a better captain than Jasprit Bumrah. It was being asked why bowlers can't become captains, as he was vice-captain under Rohit Sharma's captaincy and had captained in Perth and won the match as well, so he should become the captain," Chopra said (0:01).

"This is how it started, and this is how it's going - trolling, that when he plays, the team loses, and doesn't take full responsibility when he plays, which means from Boom Boom Bumrah, our fans have become gumrah (gone astray). I am very, very surprised and sorry," he added.

While terming Bumrah a generational talent, Chopra noted that he would be fine if the ace seamer plays only crucial games to manage his workload.

"We are talking about a generational talent who is head and shoulders above the rest. He is the best bowler in the world right now across formats. If Bumrah plays only three matches, let him play. If workload management says that, without breaking down, I can keep Bumrah playing in important matches, I will do whatever it takes," he observed.

However, Aakash Chopra opined that India needn't have announced before the start of the series that Jasprit Bumrah would play only three Tests, highlighting that it gave England freedom to prepare their strategies. While acknowledging that it might have been done to tell everyone why the unconventional seamer was not being made captain, he added that the communication could have been better.

---

"I was feeling ashamed of where we have reached as a cricketing fan fraternity" - Aakash Chopra on Jasprit Bumrah's Test numbers

Jasprit Bumrah picked up two five-wicket hauls in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that the trolling made him feel ashamed, pointing out that Jasprit Bumrah has bowled more overs and taken more wickets than Mohammed Siraj despite playing nine Tests fewer than the Hyderabad seamer in the last five years.

"I was going through his performances, and I was feeling ashamed of where we have reached as a cricketing fan fraternity. No cricketer is talking like that. We talk about Mohammed Siraj being our workhorse, but when I see the stats of fast bowlers who have bowled more than 1000 overs in Test matches since 2020, Jasprit Bumrah has played nine matches fewer than Mohammed Siraj," he said.

"He has played 67 and Mohammed Siraj has played 76, but Jasprit Bumrah has bowled 1106 overs and Mohammed Siraj has bowled 1069. So he has bowled more while playing nine fewer matches. Of course, his wickets (157) are more than Siraj's (123)," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

Chopra highlighted that Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are the only pacers to have taken more Test wickets than Bumrah since 2020.

"If I see the entire list, only four bowlers - Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Tim Southee and James Anderson - have bowled more than him. Interestingly, if we talk about wickets, only two guys are ahead of him - Pat Cummins (170) and Mitchell Starc (162). These are Bradmanesque numbers. How can you troll him?" he observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Jasprit Bumrah has given match-winning performances in numerous Tests. He opined that Bumrah might not have played all five Tests against England even if he had skipped IPL 2025, highlighting that the Mumbai Indians (MI) seamer bowled almost as many overs in the first Test in Leeds as he did in the entire IPL.