Jasprit Bumrah will completely breakdown if he plays every match: Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan fast-bowler Shoaib Akhtar is considered one of the fastest pacers in the history of the game. While Akhtar managed to leave batsmen unsettled with his pace, he also faced his fair share of injuries due to the strain on the body. The retired cricketer believes that Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah could be sidelined with injuries if his workload is not managed in the most effective manner. Akhtar stated that Bumrah’s catapult-like action makes him more susceptible to picking injuries. Those injuries could aggravate if the bowler is overburdened. Bumrah faced back problems in 2019. He remained on the fringes for almost 12 months.

Akhtar stated that the Indian pacer’s action was a frontal one, which resulted in a lot of strain on the back of the bowler.

“His bowling is based on frontal action. Players with that action bowl with their backs and shoulder speed. We used to be side-on, and that is a compensation. Front action has no compensation and with that action, when the back blows out, you can’t escape it irrespective of how much you try,” said the former Pakistan cricketer while speaking to Sports Tak.

Akhtar shared the examples of exceptional fast bowlers Ian Bishop and Shane Bond, who battled constant issues with their back during the course of their careers, with a frontal action.

“I saw (Ian) Bishop’s back blowing out, Shane Bond’s back blowing out, and both has frontal actions. Bumrah now needs to think in this way, ‘I played a match, took an off, and go to rehab’. He needs to manage. If you play him every match, in one year, he will completely break down. Play him three matches out of five and take him out. Bumrah will have to manage this one thing if he wants to last forever,” stated the former Pakistan cricketer.

“Can say with confidence that India can comprehensively beat England”

Akhtar recently stated that he believes India can defeat England by comprehensive margins in the upcoming five-match Test series. The former recently suffered a defeat in the final of the maiden edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) against New Zealand. Akhtar is expecting better wickets in England, in comparison to the ones witnessed previously. The former cricketer further termed hands moving way out in front and trigger movement from feet forcing players to move early in comparison to waiting for the ball, as a major factor behind batsmen from sub-continent struggling in English conditions.

“I see hot conditions and better wickets. When India went to play the WTC final, I had no hopes from them. If you look at the trigger movement of the sub-continent batsmen, that cannot be changed in England straightaway. The bat hanging in front won’t stop. India will have to go there three weeks before so that the bat doesn’t go out in front. Anderson makes you commit in the air,” said Akhtar.

“And our trigger movement means that our foot goes early and the bat follows. To stop that, you have to practice for at least three weeks on a green top. In India, you cannot prepare those wickets as the climate is very different. Whether it is Dukes ball, it starts to float in the air. The problem with sub-continent players is that the moment ball is released we start moving. We don’t get to the pitch of the ball. The moment ball is released, we are already crossed over with our feet, see the case of Rohit Sharma,” he added.