Its Like Portugal Resting Ronaldo: Left Bewildered, Dale Steyn Lashes At India For Benching Jasprit Bumrah-OxBig News Network

Legendary South African pacer Dale Steyn didn’t hold back in his criticism of India’s decision to leave Jasprit Bumrah out of the playing XI for the Edgbaston Test. Steyn left bewildered and drew a striking comparison, likening Bumrah’s exclusion to a top striker being benched. Notably, Shubman Gill led India benched Jasprit Bumrah in the second test against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham due to workload management. England is currently leading the five match Test series by 1-0 and this game is very important in context of the series.

Steyn, who himself has been one of the greatest test bowlers, called out the decision-
“So Portugal have the best striker in the world in Ronaldo and they chose not to play him. That’s madness. That’s like India having Bumrah and choosing not to play, umm, him… wait, oh, no, what! shit I’m confused,” he tweeted, underlining the sheer audacity of the move.

So Portugal have the best striker in the world in Ronaldo and they chose not to play him.

Thats madness.

That’s like India having Bumrah and choosing not to play, umm, him… wait, oh, no, what! shit I’m confused 
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) July 2, 2025

India’s chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, had previously stated the move was rooted in workload management. Ahead of the tour in May, he revealed that Bumrah would only feature in three Tests, in line with recommendations from the BCCI medical team.

Captain Shubman Gill reaffirmed the rationale at the toss:

“Just to manage his workload. We did get a good break and this is an important match for us. But the third Test being at Lord’s, we think there’ll be more in that pitch so we’ll use him there.”

Having taken a five-wicket haul in the first Test while his teammates failed to deliver the decision to bench Bumrah shocked many analysts. Despite the blowback, coach Gautam Gambhir and Gill remained firm, opting to safeguard Bumrah’s fitness for the Lord’s Test. Bumrash has overbowled during Border Gavaskar Trophy that resulted in his injury and the ace pacer missing out Champions Trophy 2025 due to the injury. India learning from its past mistakes is looking to manage their champion player better this time. Head Coach Gautam Gambhir also stated about Bumrah during last match’s press conference that it is decided that Bumrh will play three Tests and there is a lot of cricket coming forward. India closed Day 1 at 310 for 5, thanks to a second successive ton from Gill and an aggressive yet composed 87 from Yashasvi Jaiswal