Chaminda Vaas, a World Cup-winning Sri Lankan hero, believes that a once-in-a-generation fast bowler like Jasprit Bumrah should not play all three formats to avoid injuries and prolong his career.
Vaas stressed that Indian selectors and team management must carefully select the correct formats and modify techniques to limit Bumrah's workload.
"Players like Bumrah have a unique action, and we must protect individuals of such caliber. They can't play in all formats. We need to identify the suitable format and manage their participation accordingly," Vaas told reporters here on Friday.
Vaas provided insight into the critical role of protecting and fostering rare talents such as Bumrah. Vaas emphasised the significance of managing players like Bumrah, who are recognised for their unusual bowling motions.
The left-arm pace legend believes that both skipper Rohit Sharma and the unrivaled Virat Kohli will go all out to win the World Cup for India.
"We all know that Virat is a special player and the way he performed for the last decade is extraordinary. Even Rohit, I'm pretty sure that they will give their 100% playing for India. All the fans are waiting to see these two performing. And I'm sure that they will go all out and try to do well for India," said Vaas.
Furthermore, Vaas emphasised the importance of developing rising Sri Lankan talents like Matheesha Pathirana to elevate them to the level of world stars like Bumrah and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Vaas highlighted that Sri Lanka Cricket must protect these promising players, carefully manage their workloads, and ensure their progressive development.
"Pathirana is still young. He is still 20 and he has a long way to go. But it's up to the Sri Lanka cricket establishment to protect him. If you are going to play 50 overs, we need to take care of him not to play all the games and especially Matheesha and taking care of him is very important," said Vaas.
(With PTI inputs)
