Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], November 14 (ANI): India's pace bowling mainstay, Jasprit Bumrah, silenced his critics who questioned his longevity in representing the country across all formats, despite fitness concerns, by taking his 16th five-wicket haul in the Test format on Friday.

Bumrah, unfazed by the questions surrounding his place, is striving to give his best and learn new skills, while assuring that he will continue to do so in the future.

Since Bumrah's return to on-field action after recovering from a stress reaction in his back during the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney in January, he has often popped on the radar of critics. Ex-cricketers have questioned Bumrah's future in Tests and even predicted his retirement after the conclusion of India's Test tour of England, which ended in a 2-2 draw in August.

The 31-year-old put his critics to rest in the opening Test of the two-match series against South Africa at Kolkata's Eden Gardens on Friday with a sizzling five-wicket haul. Riding high on uneven bounce and a hint of reverse swing, Bumrah removed Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tony de Zorzi and tail-enders to finish with figures of 5/27 in his 14-over spell, his 16th five-wicket haul in Test format.

After the end of the day's play, Bumrah was asked about the critics who have raised questions over his fitness. Bumrah remained tight-lipped while assuring that he wil give his best while taking care of his body.

'I'm very happy, as I said that I try to give my best in whichever format I play, the questions are not my questions, I will not answer them, so I try to play as much as I can, I try to take care of my body, I try to give my best in each and every format and that's how I've looked at my career and I'll look to do that in the future as well and rest, question-answer sessions, whoever wants to play, they can play, but I'm happy as far as I'm able to contribute and try to learn new things and try to offer more to the side,' Bumrah told reporters.

Earlier this year, former India batter Mohammad Kaif and all-rounder Irfan Pathan expressed concerns over Bumrah's future in the red-ball format, citing his recent back issue. During the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England, Kaif predicted that the time was nearing when India would line up without Bumrah.

In the same series, the world number one Test bowler featured in just three Tests out of the five to manage his workload issues. Pathan sent a bold message to Bumrah, urging him to put in extra effort if the team requires it of him before the fourth Test against England in Manchester, citing Ben Stokes' example.

During India's unbeaten run to the Asia Cup in September, Kaif questioned whether the utilisation of Bumrah's three overs in the powerplay was an attempt to safeguard him from injury. Bumrah responded to Kaif's observation and wrote, 'Inaccurate before inaccurate again'. (ANI)