And so came out the experts with their insights in full flow: “He is bowling too full”; “He is not looking to take wickets”; “He is not being aggressive enough”; “His body-weight is leaning towards one side” were some of the observations. And frankly, you couldn’t blame the experts or their observations, for all the aforementioned things had happened at different stages of the series. By the end of his spell in Mount Maunganui, Bumrah looked battered and bruised, sported the face of a bowler whose confidence was rock bottom and looked like he’d run out of ideas to take wickets.

The 3rd ODI at Bay Oval on Monday (February 10) was Bumrah’s 13th match across two formats against three different opposition in a span of 35 days. You would think that it’s a silly enough workload for a fully-fit pacer, but to consider that this was imposed on a bowler who’s still recovering from a lower-back stress fracture (the first of its kind in his career) is outrageous. 

Bumrah, staggeringly, has featured in every single one of India’s 14 games (one being a washout) since his return from injury and has bowled 14.1 more overs (85 more balls) than any other Indian bowler in this Indian team, including the spin of Ravindra Jadeja. Mohammad Shami, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jadeja and even Shardul Thakur, at different points in the limited-overs leg of the New Zealand tour, were given rests yet Bumrah featured in every single match, bowling a total of 50 overs. In fact, he was scheduled to play a Ranji Trophy match for Gujarat before the Sri Lanka, but was pulled out of it in the very last minute after intervention from BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah. 

Giving a bowler returning from a major injury enough overs under his belt to fast-track his recovery and get match-fit is one thing, but completely running him into the ground by over-bowling him is unacceptable and dangerous. India, as of this moment, are doing the latter with Bumrah. To put things into perspective, Bumrah, over the course of the last 35 days, has bowled 18.1 more overs than what he did in the entirety of IPL 2019 across a 51-day period. Given all this, it is unsurprising that his form has seen a slump; he is knackered and he badly needs a rest.

Hagley Oval, too, has been a batting friendly wicket over the past three years, albeit no Test has been played at the venue since the start of last year. What this would mean is that unless India do away with their 6 batsmen / 4 bowler away Test strategy - which is very unlikely - their pacers would be exposed to some barbaric workload in the two Tests, which would be less than ideal for Bumrah, who looks like he’s at the verge of breaking down.

You would also imagine that the chances of him being rested for the Tests are unlikely, given the team has a legitimate chance of placing one hand in the World Test Championship Final next year by completing a clean-sweep. Ishant’s fitness concerns and Saini - who is yet to play a Test for India -  being the only other standby quick also adds to the narrative. The management had multiple chances to rest Bumrah in the limited-overs leg, be it after the 3rd T20I in Hamilton or after the 2nd ODI in Auckland, but their stubborness has now means they’ve put both themselves and Bumrah in a precarious position heading into the Tests. 

But the point remains: India are currently killing Bumrah - both physically and mentally - and it needs to stop. The workload that’s been imposed on him coming on the back of an injury has been cruel and off the charts, and given his awkward action - which has been described by many as ‘dangerous’ - one misstep, for all we know, could it be all it takes to suck him into a cycle of recurring injury problems. Words about handing Bumrah with care have been aplenty, but it’s now time for the management to show it in their actions, for we’re now seeing the big man dismantle right in front of our eyes.