“Unfortunately, what he does is pretty tough” - Glenn McGrath opens up on Jasprit Bumrah’s workload

Former Australian seamer Glenn McGrath has opened up on the Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah playing only three Tests out of the five matches on the England tour, which is underway currently in the United Kingdom.

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Speaking at the MRF Pace Foundation, McGrath stated that Bumrah’s bowling action is completely different from other pacers. Furthermore, he added that the Indian premier pacer needs an off-season to get strong through the season.

“His whole action is different to a lot of fast bowlers. He’s got a slow run-up and the last few steps just really accelerate him through the crease. He’s got hyperextension, and he’s just got a great wrist. And the way he releases it is a fair bit closer to the batsman because of his technique than all other bowlers. So, there’s a lot that’s unique about him, but when he gets it right, it just all comes together well. He’s found what’s worked for him,” McGrath said as quoted by The Indian Express.

“Unfortunately, what he does is pretty tough on the body. Especially when you’re playing a lot of cricket, there’s no time to have an off-season. He really needs to get a lot stronger physically and fitter to put up with the stresses of fast bowling. And he needs an off-season. It will get him strong through the season,” he added.

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Notably, Bumrah injured his back during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia Down Under and missed the England series at home and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai. However, he made a comeback in the IPL 2025 season for the Mumbai Indians mid-way through the season.

Additionally, the former Aussie pacer felt that Bumrah needs a lot of assistance from other bowlers from the other end to make things easier and the right balance, adding that limiting Bumrah to the longest format of the game would be a shame.

“You want your best bowler bowling. And he’ll want to bowl all the time. If he’s just bowling in short spells, then the batting team knows they just can get through the three or four overs and then they’re away. So it depends a lot on the other bowlers. You need another group of fast bowlers coming through to balance it out so that he doesn’t have to bowl long spells. You’ve got other bowlers bowling equally as well to carry the workload. You look at Bumrah, he’s so effective in ODI and T20 cricket. To limit himself to Test cricket would be a shame. But, he’s got to work out what’s best for him,” McGrath concluded.

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