"The world won't end if he doesn't play 7 games" - Aakash Chopra feels MI will listen to BCCI and rest Jasprit Bumrah

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra feels that the Mumbai Indians (MI) will need to abide by the BCCI if the latter want to monitor Jasprit Bumrah's fitness. The star speedster has been out of action for a while now due to recurring back injuries. He also missed the 2022 T20 World Cup.

With the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup this year, the BCCI will want to ensure that Bumrah's comeback in the IPL doesn't rekindle his back injury. And Chopra recently claimed that MI will listen to the BCCI if they want Bumrah to be rested for a few games.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda on the sidelines of the JioCinema CricStream showcase, this is what Aakash Chopra had to say about Jasprit Bumrah's comeback:

"You're an Indian player first and then you play for your franchise. So if Bumrah feels any discomfort, the BCCI will step in and tell the franchise that we are not going to release him. The world won't end if he doesn't play seven games with Jofra Archer."

He added:

"At the same time, when you're fit, you want to keep on playing as that only makes you better. So I definitely feel MI will pay heed to it if BCCI steps in because he is a national treasure and things aren't as difficult to manage as they seem to be at the moment."

---

Aakash Chopra on whether Jasprit Bumrah will play red-ball cricket before WTC final

Ravindra Jadeja's comeback to international cricket has been sensational, and many feel the one first-class game that he played for Saurashtra helped him find his groove. On being asked whether Jasprit Bumrah, after regaining complete fitness, can do the same by playing the Irani Trophy or County Cricket, Aakash Chopra replied:

"If he is fit, he will go and play those games (Irani Trophy and County cricket). But the IPL is still a month away and we don't even know if he will play all games. The WTC final is three months away. So it's too early to say anything."

It will be interesting to see how MI and BCCI manage Jasprit Bumrah's workload during IPL 2023.