All work, no rest could make Jas a dull boy!
Updated On: 26 August, 2025 07:53 AM IST | Mumbai | Balvinder Singh Sandhu
For those who choose to hammer India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for ‘choosing matches’, here’s a statistical deep dive to show how punishing the life of a fast bowler can be; in the last seven years, India’s top pacers have had an average rest of just three days for every day played
Listen to this article :
India pacer Jasprit Bumrah during the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford, Manchester, last month. Pic/Getty Images
I was stunned when I saw these numbers (table below). Jasprit Bumrah has had an average rest of just 3.2 days for every playing day across the last seven years, while Mohammed Siraj has had 3.5 days, and Mohammed Shami, 3.7. And remember — both Bumrah and Shami have also missed matches because of injuries. That only makes these statistics even more telling.
A closer look at the table, covering the last seven years, shows that out of 2555 days, Bumrah has played matches on 807 days (in Tests, ODIs, T20Is for India, and the IPL, including pre-match training days), bowling a total of 2220.3 overs. Now, if you add the two travel days before and after each match (which are stressful too), his playing days will further increase. The same goes for India’s other frontline fast bowlers, Siraj (played 731 days and bowled 1764.2 overs) and Shami (played 683 days and bowled 1652 overs).
When you break this down — (seven years x 365 days) 2555 days divided by total match-days) — it shows that the average rest days for the pacers is very less. And mind you — these numbers don’t even include domestic matches and practice days. If we added first-class or other domestic games, the workload would be much heavier. I didn’t have that data which means, we’re only looking at half the picture.
Read Next Story
Trending Stories
Latest Photos
Latest Videos
Latest Web Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
Mid-Day Fast
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT