Star India pacer Jasprit Bumrah has fired back at former cricketer Mohammad Kaif for making what he called an “inaccurate” claim about his fitness. Bumrah took to X to strongly dismiss Kaif’s remarks, making it clear he wasn’t happy with the analysis.
Jasprit Bumrah’s Mixed Run in the Asia Cup 2025
At 31, Jasprit Bumrah is still regarded as one of the best fast bowlers in the world, but in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, he hasn’t quite looked at his sharpest. With India going for a spin-heavy strategy, he has been the only specialist pacer in the XI, supported by Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. The spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, and Axar Patel has handled things well.
This time, Jasprit Bumrah’s role has been tweaked. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir have asked him to bowl all three of his overs during the power play.
Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah would usually bowl one or two overs up front and then save some firepower for the death overs. So far, the results have been mixed. Against Pakistan, he returned figures of 2/28 and 0/46. Against Bangladesh and the UAE, he was more economical with 2/18 and 1/19.
Mohammad Kaif’s Analysis
Watching Jasprit Bumrah in this new role, Mohammad Kaif shared his opinion that the pacer was changing his approach to avoid injuries. He also suggested this might become a concern for India in bigger tournaments like the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Mohammad Kaif wrote on X:
“Bumrah under Rohit would generally bowl overs 1, 13, 17, 19. Under Surya, in Asia cup, he bowled a three-overs spell at the start. To avoid injury, Bumrah these days, prefers to bowl while his body is warmed up. 1 over of Bumrah in the remaining 14 overs is a huge relief for batters, against stronger teams at World Cup, this could hurt India.”
Check out the Tweet:
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Bumrah under Rohit would generally bowl overs 1, 13, 17, 19. Under Surya, in Asia cup, he bowled a three-overs spell at the start. To avoid injury, Bumrah these days, prefers to bowl while his body is warmed up. 1 over of Bumrah in the remaining 14 overs is a huge relief for…
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) September 25, 2025
Jasprit Bumrah Fires Back At Mohammad Kaif
The tweet went viral in no time, and soon it caught the attention of the Indian superstar bowler. Kaif’s comments didn’t sit well with Jasprit Bumrah, who quickly slammed the former cricketer online. The fast bowler kept it short but sharp, writing:
“Inaccurate before inaccurate again.”
Inaccurate before inaccurate again 👍🏾 https://t.co/knkjXOGOKb
— Jasprit Bumrah (@Jaspritbumrah93) September 25, 2025
Mohammad Kaif was quick to notice the reply from Jasprit Bumrah and come up with a reply to it. In his reply, Kaif hailed Bumrah as the “biggest match-winner” of the Indian cricket team. He wrote:
“Please take this as a cricketing observation from a well-wisher and an admirer. You are Indian cricket’s biggest match-winner and I know what it takes to give it all when on field wearing India colours.”
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Check out Mohammad Kaif’s reply to Bumrah’s tweet:
Please take this as a cricketing observation from a well-wisher and an admirer. You are Indian cricket's biggest match-winner and I know what it takes to give it all when on field wearing India colours. https://t.co/FqJh7NgRb9
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) September 26, 2025
Talking about his performances, Jasprit Bumrah performed brilliantly with the new ball in the Super 4 clash against the Bangladesh cricket team. During his spell, he troubled the top order with his sensational bowling. In fact, the Indian cricket team has been using Shivam Dube and Kuldeep Yadav to close the innings in Bumrah’s presence during the death overs. This strategy has been working fine for the Indian team so far.
The BCCI has been managing Jasprit Bumrah very cautiously ever since he injured his back during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Bumrah missed significant cricket, including two Tests against the England cricket team, and returned to the shortest format of the game after sitting on the sidelines for nearly a year. His availability for the Asia Cup 2025, too, was a matter of concern for the BCCI.
Varun Aaron Weighs In
Former India pacer Varun Aaron also shared his thoughts on the discussion during an ESPNCricinfo show. India’s current strategy didn’t convince him of using Bumrah mostly up front. Aaron explained:
“I don’t agree with it at all because you need Bumrah 2 up top, obviously he’s going to get you those wickets in the powerplay but then if something goes wrong, you have Bumrah in the middle and then at the death. Or you have 2 overs of Bumrah at the death, teams are going to find it very difficult to get away playing Bumrah.”
“That being said, now India have found a third seamer, a third seeming option with Dube bowling really well last game, getting 2 wickets, especially on those wickets where he is tall, he can bowl into the wicket really well. So now India have an option, it’s going to be interesting to see how India are going to deploy Bumrah, especially after he didn’t have the best game against Pakistan. Just an anomaly, doesn’t really go for that many. But that being said, 2 of Bumrah at the start and then keep to either 1 in the middle and 1 at the back end or 2 at the back end.”
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