r/Cricket • u/5missedcallsfromBCCI 1983 Prudential World Cup Champions • 21d ago

Opinion Tendulkar slams Bumrah trolls: ‘just a coincidence that India won Tests he didn’t play’

https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/tendulkar-slams-bumrah-trolls-just-a-coincidence-that-india-won-tests-he-didnt-play-10172846/
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u/Ruthless-Aggression Chennai Super Kings 21d ago

The fact that someone like Sachin has to come out in the support of Bumrah shows how far we've fallen as a fanbase. A player with a test average of 19.8 (Yes, FUCKING 19.8) in 48 matches is getting trolled. Why? Because India won a few matches in which he didn't play. We don't deserve Bumrah at all. Insufferable fanbase!

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u/barath_s 20d ago

One of the downsides of Indian culture is hero/villain overreaction dichotomy. Both Sachin and Bumrah have been deified and don't deserve that. And both have had overreaction which they don't deserve.

Bumrah is a very very good lead bowler ; I love not just his skills, but his attitude.

But his body is breaking down (as many forecast it would , with that action). Average will go up as players age beyond their prime, or play when injured or wickets taken drop. Bumrah's average is remarkable right now, but it's not something to genuflect on.

The deification and the trolling hide that Bumrah is an excellent bowler but probably not a dominant one (never taken a single 10for, never taken more than 6 wickets in an innings, thinks his wickets out, with aid of intelligence, discipline, seam and his remarkable release point/unique action). As he is injured and likely to be more limited, he will play less. Can he be the lead bowler when he misses tests in a series over longer duration ? How does India build up pace stock ? How does strategy carry over ? How does India integrate Bumrah in the optimal way in the longer run

The Indian attack is better with Bumrah in it, very obviously, but the performance of Siraj with/without Bumrah suggests that perhaps there are nuances/dynamics to be addressed to maximize the team.

For now, I would simply wish him recovery from his knee injury, and am confident that his stable mind would help him ignore puerile trolling.