'Bas ab. Nahi lag raha zor': Jasprit Bumrah exhausted after Rohit Sharma tells him to bowl 'one more over'

It has been a one-man show for India in the ongoing tour of Australia with Jasprit Bumrah single-handedly keeping India alive in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. The story remained the same in Melbourne, where Bumrah also bowled his heart out to help India make a comeback after Australia secured a 105-run lead in the first innings. However, the hosts were in the driver's seat by the end of the day as a gritty fifty-run stand between Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland took Australia's lead past 300. India's Jasprit Bumrah walks of the field for tea break on the day four of the fourth cricket test between Australia and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 29(AP)

In the absence of Mohammed Shami, who has failed to convince the BCCI of his fitness, and Mohammed Siraj's poor run of form, Bumrah has become Rohit Sharma's go-to man in the series. In the second innings in Melbourne, where he picked up his third five-wicket haul in the contest, Bumrah bowled 24.4 overs and a total of 53.2 overs in the match, the most he has bowled in a single Test in his career.

On Day 4, where Bumrah's three-fer in the second session saw Australia being reduced to 91 for six, the India vice-captain looked exhausted at one point. In a video that went viral on social media, Bumrah could be heard telling Rohit that he has no more strength when urged to bowl another over. He said: "Bas abhi. Nahi lag raha hai zor." [Enough now. I'm not able to push more].

The Bumrah concern with Champions Trophy ahead

It has been a record-scripting campaign for Bumrah in Australia thus far. Not only did he become the Asian pacer with the most wickets Down Under, he also took his career tally to 200 scalps during the contest. He also became the first fast bowler to take 30 wickets in a single Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, en route to which he picked up three five-wicket hauls, the joint-most by an Asian bowler in a tour of Australia.

However, during the series, Bumrah bowled 141.2 overs, the third-most he has bowled in a single Test series for India after the 2021 England tour (187.2) and the 2018/19 Australia series (157.1). The figure took his overall tally to 386 overs across formats in 2024, making Bumrah the most-worked bowler in the calendar year.

With Sydney Test up next, followed by the Champions Trophy tournament in February, India would be eager to rest their premier fast bowler well ahead of the ICC trophy.

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