India’s superstar pacer Jasprit Bumrah while giving his opinion on England’s aggressive brand of cricket, which is famously termed as ‘Bazball’, said that he finds it interesting but doesn’t understand it much. Team India is embarking on a new era in Test cricket, with Shubman Gill stepping into a leadership role with able hands of experience like KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah to guide him .
This transition comes at a challenging time, with just few days to the start of India’s tour of England. With a relatively inexperienced batting lineup, notably without the stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, massive responsibilities will fall upon the bowling department, which is set to be led by the formidable Jasprit Bumrah.
Jasprit Bumrah returned to Test cricket much like he had left it—leading the Indian attack and posing the biggest threat with the ball. Coming back from a stress reaction in his previously operated back, there had been serious concerns about whether he had been overbowled and how well he would recover. But at Headingley, Jasprit Bumrah quickly put those doubts to rest, once again establishing himself as the standout bowler on the field.
Jasprit Bumrah once again underlined why he is considered the best fast bowler in the world at present, producing a masterful five-wicket haul to hand India a slender edge in the opening Test against England at Headingley. Jasprit Bumrah introduced England to the best of his skills with the fifer.
Jasprit Bumrah – The lone warrior for Team India
Jasprit Bumrah once again showed why he’s the world’s premier fast bowler, delivering a sensational five-wicket haul to dismantle England’s first innings despite being let down repeatedly by his teammates on the field. Jasprit Bumrah finished with figures of 5/83, a performance dripping with quality and control, in sharp contrast to the rest of India’s pace attack. England eventually folded for 465, falling just six short of India’s total of 471, but the narrow lead was only possible because of one man.
Jasprit Bumrah was a lone warrior on Day 2, claiming all three wickets that fell as England slowly built their innings. On Day 3, he finally received some support — Prasidh Krishna picked up three wickets while Mohammed Siraj added two. However, both bowlers were inconsistent, leaking runs and allowing England to stay within striking distance of India’s formidable first-innings total.
During the Leeds Test, Jasprit Bumrah surpassed Wasim Akram to become the highest wicket-taker among Asian bowlers in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia), taking his tally to 150-four more than the legendary Pakistani pacer.
After posting 471, India saw their advantage narrow as England responded with 465 — driven by Ollie Pope’s composed 106 and Harry Brook’s flamboyant 99. Brook, dropped multiple times, capitalised on each chance before falling short of his century while attempting a stylish finish.
With England’s tail wagging dangerously, Jasprit Bumrah returned for a decisive final spell, clean bowling Chris Woakes and then removing Josh Tongue to complete his 14th five-wicket haul in Tests. Jasprit Bumrah looked up to the sky and made a quiet gesture, and his teammates rushed to him. However Jasprit Bumrah went wicketless when it mattered most in the second innings as England easily trounced on the opportunity bashing other bowlers to script a memorable win.
While injuries goes hand by hand with Indian star bowler Jasprit Bumrah who bolsters a terrific record in all the three formats of the game, recently opened up on his future in cricket and how will he manage his retirement plans and injury management going forward. He also spilled light upon why he was not interesting captaining India in the red ball format. Team India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has opened up about his workload management ahead of the upcoming Test series against England.
The right-arm speedster confirmed that he would play the first game, but will most probably feature in just two more Tests to keep himself away from the injury cloud and coach Gautam Gambhir has confirmed the same in the post match press conference after the 1st Test match. This didn’t go any good with cricket experts round the world and former South African cricketer Ab De Villiers has made a shocking comparison alongside slamming his workload management.
Ab De Villiers slams Jasprit Bumrah’s workload management comparing him to Dale Steyn
On the tour of England, one of the toughest places for the Indian team to win a Test series, the fact that the tourists would have Jasprit Bumrah, arguably the best pacer in the world, available for just three games out of five, is baffling for many.
Jasprit Bumrah, who featured in almost the entire Indian Premier League (IPL) season for the Mumbai Indians, has been allotted just three games against England. India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir already made the decision clear, making many wonder why lesser-important games couldn’t be removed from Bumrah’s schedule to manage his workload.
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has expressed his surprise amid reports that Jasprit Bumrah will play only in three out of the five-match Test series in England. Calling Test cricket the ultimate form of the game, the cricketer-turned-YouTuber shared how the Proteas used to manage former World No.1 pacer Dale Steyn by resting him during less important T20I and ODI series.
Ab De Villiers also questioned whether the surgeon has suggested Bumrah to manage his workload by playing fewer matches.
On Sunday (June 29), AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel:
“ He is probably the top bowler in the world in all formats right now. So, it’s very difficult to decide a way to rest him, but in my opinion, Test cricket is the ultimate form of the game. And this Test series probably would’ve been the one, in my opinion, to get him ready for all five Test matches.
That’s what we used to do with Dale (Steyn). Rest him in lesser important T20 and ODI series and get him ready for the big Test series against Australia, England, and India away from home… New Zealand to a certain extent, depending on the rankings at that time.”
“So, I don’t know if it was mismanagement or perhaps because he recently got back from injury, sort of saw the IPL as the warmup phase. Maybe, went to the surgeon, who let him know, ‘You can’t play the five Test matches.’ So, I mean you got to respect that, and at the end of the day, it’s up to Team India to sort of manage him well,” he added.
The 41-year-old reiterated that Bumrah should play the remaining four Tests in England unless there’s an injury. He said in the same conversation:
“ India and England series, and that is all to do with Jasprit Bumrah. Will he be playing the 2nd Test match? How many Test matches will he be playing in this Test series? The very big Test series, and I say it like that because I don’t know if it’s a serious injury, and maybe because of the lack of workload coming into this Test series. They are scared of him getting a very bad injury and being out for a few years, or is it managing workload?”
“If it’s the latter, I don’t know if they’ve gone right about this workload management leading up to this huge five-Test match series. It doesn’t get bigger than that, guys, except for maybe the WTC final,” he added.
AB de Villiers also warned England that Team India’s decision to make Jasprit Bumrah’s availability public might turn out to be a surprise factor. He said in the same video:
“It’s unfortunate that with an inexperienced bowling attack that he’s not gonna play all the Test matches, so at least that’s how it seems to have been communicated in the media. Maybe it’s all part of the surprise, saying, ‘We are thinking of resting Bumrah,’ but then he ends up playing all five Test matches as a surprise. I think being 1-0 down, that’s hopefully the surprise for Team India.”
De Villiers further backed the remaining India bowlers to stand up and deliver if Bumrah isn’t available for two Tests:
“But there’s also the opportunity for Arshdeep Singh and some other bowlers, Kuldeep Yadav perhaps, to come into the side and make a difference,” he concluded.
Notably, Ben Stokes-led England won the opening Test against Shubman Gill and company by five wickets after they successfully chased down 371 in Leeds. The likes of Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, and Ravindra Jadeja failed to support Bumrah well in the series opener. The second Test will be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham, which begins on July 2.
Also Read: ENG vs IND : Shubman Gill Appointed Test Skipper For Red Ball