"Boys of today score 300 runs in a single day" - Indian bowling legend shuns comparison with Jasprit Bumrah

Legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev urged fans not to compare him with India's current pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. The 1983 World Cup-winning Indian captain emphasized that it wasn't fair to assess players from different generations.

Bumrah was in terrific form during the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series against Australia. The speedster finished as the leading wicket-taker of the five-match series, bagging 32 scalps across nine innings at a brilliant average of 13.06.

While Bumrah has been hailed as a modern-day great by fans and experts alike, Dev is India's most successful bowler in Test cricket. The 66-year-old has 434 wickets in 227 innings.

Bumrah's workload management emerged as a big talking point during the BGT 2024-25 as he bowled 151.2 overs in nine innings. It took a toll on his body and didn't bowl in the fourth innings of the final Test due to a back injury.

Here's what Dev said on the sidelines of the Professional Golf Tour of India about the comparisons between the workload in his era to Bumrah's (quoted as saying by TOI):

"Do not compare. You just cannot compare one generation with the other. For instance, our generation did not use to score 300 runs, but nowadays, such scores are easier. But it was not the case in our times."

It remains to be seen if Jasprit Bumrah will be able to regain full fitness ahead of the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy. The multi-nation tournament is set to commence on February 19.

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"Workload management is bull****" - Balwinder Sandhu on Jasprit Bumrah's spells in BGT 2024-25

While Kapil Dev suggested that the workloads of two different generations should not be compared, his ex-teammate Balwinder Sandhu has a different opinion. During an interview with TOI, the 1983 World Cup winner pointed out that pacers from Dev's era bowled long spells without any injury concerns.

Sandhu said:

"Workload? How many overs did he [Jasprit Bumrah] bowl? 150-something, right? But in how many matches or innings? Five matches or nine innings, correct? That comes down to 16 overs per innings or 30 overs per match. And he didn’t bowl those 15-plus overs in one go. He bowled in spells. So, is it a big deal? Workload management is bull****. These are Australian terms, created by Australians. Workload management is nothing. I don’t agree with this.

"I come from an era when cricketers used to listen to their bodies and no one else. I don’t agree with this at all. We used to bowl 25–30 overs in a day. Kapil has bowled long spells throughout his career. Your body and muscles get conditioned when you bowl, bowl, and bowl. So, I don’t agree with this workload management concept."

Jasprit Bumrah's heroics in Australia went in vain as India failed to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The hosts won the series 3-1, clinching the coveted trophy after almost 10 years.