The former all-rounder didn’t hold back, pointing to Bumrah’s lack of wickets in crucial moments and a perceived ‘holding back’ that left India short-handed in the three matches he played.
New Delhi, India – August 7, 2025: The dust has settled on India’s hard-fought series draw against England, and while many are celebrating the team’s grit, former all-rounder Irfan Pathan has offered a critical assessment of the team’s pace spearhead. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Pathan was visibly disappointed with Jasprit Bumrah’s performance, rating it a mere 6 out of 10 and stating that the world’s number one Test bowler “did not live up to expectations.”
This critique is particularly poignant given the circumstances. Bumrah, who was recovering from a back stress fracture he sustained during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, was limited to just three of the five Tests due to “workload management.” He had used the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) season to prove his fitness, taking 18 wickets for the Mumbai Indians.
On paper, Bumrah’s performance was respectable. He finished as India’s second-highest wicket-taker with 14 scalps at an average of 26.00, and even grabbed two five-wicket hauls. However, Pathan believes that statistics don’t tell the full story.
“Bumrah will get six out of ten. Why? The reason is that when you are a senior player, there is a lot of responsibility on you to win matches. He played in three Tests, and India did not win any of them,” Pathan explained.
The former cricketer pointed to several key moments where he felt Bumrah fell short. In the first Test, Bumrah took a brilliant five wickets in the first innings but failed to take a single wicket in the second while defending a total of 371. “At that crucial time, when your main match-winner is expected to step up and win the game, it is up to him to find a way… to create pressure,” Pathan said, adding that a similar situation occurred in the Leeds Test where Bumrah took no wickets and England scored heavily.
Pathan also felt that at times, Bumrah held back his effort. “There were moments, like when a sixth over was needed… I felt he held back a little there,” he recalled, citing the Lord’s Test where Bumrah bowled only five overs despite having a strong track record against the opposing batsman, Joe Root.
Concluding his analysis, Pathan reiterated that while Bumrah’s performance was not a complete failure, it simply wasn’t what you expect from the top-ranked bowler in the world. He also subtly linked the issue to the ongoing debate over players’ commitment. “There was also some pick-and-choose, which I have always been against, and that was visible too,” he noted.