Is Jasprit Bumrah really an asset for Team India? Decoding his stats ahead of T20 World Cup 2026

Jasprit Bumrah - (Source: AFP)

Jasprit Bumrah has been a mystery since his return from the back injury he suffered during the Sydney Test in January 2025. After the last setback, the right-arm seamer has been handled with care. Bumrah has hardly played any series fully, and his workload has been managed with utmost priority.

Jasprit returned to action after the Champions Trophy 2025, and since then, he has featured across all three formats. However, the 32-year-old has looked like a pale shadow of his past self. For the unversed, Bumrah was the leading wicket-taker in 2024 with 86 wickets in 34 innings. 

Bumrah’s 2024 was his personal best, where he had a strike-rate of 26.97. Coming to 2025, Bumrah’s game time got reduced to just 25 innings. Further, in 25 innings, he picked up just 45 wickets with a strike-rate going down to 37.95. 

In a nutshell, there is chatter on social media that Bumrah’s frequent rest and his underwhelming has become more of a liability. However, a section has defended the pacer, stating that is reserving his best for the big tournaments. Therefore, this article will decode whether the seamer is an asset for India or a liability.

Jasprit Bumrah’s numbers from 2024 and 2025

If we look at the numbers, then Bumrah averaged 21.77 in 2025, which is a big increase from 13.76 which he clocked in 2024. Further, Bumrah's strike-rate has shot up from 26.97 to 37.95, which is a worrying sign for the Indian team. 

If we look at these numbers, then Bumrah's threat has certainly gone down as he was hit for a six in T20Is by a Pakistani batter for the first time in his career during 2025 Asia Cup. Also, the numbers back the reduced threat level from Bumrah in the opposition's camp. 

Jasprit Bumrah vs Mitchell Starc: Two different school of thoughts

Like 2024, Mitchell Starc owned 2025, where the left-arm seamer picked up 58 wickets in just 25 innings. Further, Starc and Bumrah are from different school of thoughts. Jasprit believes in preserving and saving himself for the big occassions, while Starc hates being rested.

In 2025, Starc played same innings as Bumrah, who the difference here is that he featured in all games of the series, unlike Bumrah. However, the stat also breaks the comman misconception that Bumrah lacks game time, where it clearly shows that both Bumrah and Starc have the same number of games in 2025. Let's compare their stats.

If we look at the stats, then Starc has defenitely had a better year than Bumrah, but the right-arm seamer has been wrongly at the centre of excessive criticism. It is fair to conclude that Starc had a super year and Bumrah, on the other hand had a below-par season. 

Is Jasprit Bumrah a liability or assest for India? The final verdict

As mentioned above, Bumrah had a below-par year, but that does not make him a liability in the Indian team. Jasprit continues to be a great asset and it seems to be a matter of time till he regains that lost rojo and repeat his 2024 heroics.

However, there is one issue that with frequent rests, India are unable to play with a single combination and the bowlers too are unsure whether they play the next match or not, bringing in element of uncertanity in the team.