'My fuel tank was bigger; he has to be smarter' - Glenn McGrath on Jasprit Bumrah's injury concerns

Indian pace-bowling spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah, has been out injured since early January of 2025 as what was thought to be back spasms turned out to be a stress-related injury in his lower back. He subsequently missed the recent edition of the Champions Trophy and is set to be absent from a few of Mumbai Indians' game at the start of IPL 2025. 

Former Australian seamer, Glenn McGrath, recently discussed Bumrah's ability to bounce back from setbacks. However, he advised the ace pacer to be "smarter" about workload management going forward.  

“He puts more stress on his body than the other bowlers. He has found ways to manage it, but unfortunately not all the time. He has done it before (making a comeback from injury), he will know better than anyone (about) the recovery time, the time in the gym. He is not as young as he used to be, so he has to be smarter about what he does,” McGrath told Times of India.

Being a fast bowler is like driving a car: Glenn McGrath

The former Australian cricketer compared his off-the-field training to Bumrah's by providing an analogy of a car and its fuel tank.  

Also Read: Reports: BCCI to stick with Rohit Sharma over Jasprit Bumrah for Test captaincy

“He has to work even harder off the field. Being a fast bowler is like driving a car. If you do not top it up with fuel, you are going to run out of fuel sooner or later. My fuel tank was bigger than Jasprit’s because I did not bowl as quickly as him. These guys know how they work at their best. If India are under the pump, they need him,” he added.

Bumrah had had a lot of bowling to do during India's 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour to Australia. The pacer ended up bowling a whopping total of 151.2 overs across nine innings. There were a lot of reports going around that it was the excessive strain put on Bumrah which is why the pacer ended up breaking down by the end of the series.