Jasprit Bumrah
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Jasprit Bumrah: India’s boomerang fires at the death

Mustafa Ismail·
One Day International (ODI)
·4 Comments·

Jasprit Bumrah bowled an outstanding late spell against Pakistan as India restricted their arch-rivals to just 237…

Over the years, Indian fans have been accustomed to their fast bowlers coming in and picking up a few wickets here and there with the new ball – but in the last ten overs, they would typically get smashed all over the park.  Whether it was the likes of Srinath and Prasad or Zaheer and Agarkar, the South Asian team has always had a decent fast bowling line-up, but you would never consider them lethal in the closing stages.

More often than not, India would rely on their spinners for breakthroughs. The likes of Kumble, Prasanna, Chandresekhar, and Harbhajan would get the big wickets to put India in the driving seat. Apart from maybe Kapil Dev, Srinath, and Zaheer Khan, you would rarely see spells dominated by Indian fast bowlers. And while most of these bowlers had plenty of quality to offer, they lacked something that Jasprit Bumrah has – which is consistency at the death.

In the Super Four encounter, Bumrah’s menacing ability was clearly on display. With the batsmen set and looking for the boundary, Jasprit Bumrah steamed in and bowled straight in the block-hole during his last spell. The deliveries were seemingly impossible to hit. Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali had just hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 21 runs in an over. They had all the momentum, but they just couldn’t get a hold of Bumrah. The quickie’s run up is also unusual as he walks the first 15 to 20 steps and then runs in. Evidently, he possesses tremendous power in his shoulder to generate the kind of pace that he does.

Bumrah’s current form makes it crucial for the Indian management to manage his work-load vigilantly. Since the beginning of the year, he has become India’s go-to bowler in all formats – and with the World Cup coming up, they need to ensure that he gets enough rest to fire on all cylinders. The Australian tour is also just weeks away, and the player is expected to feature in every Test match. However, it may be wise to rest him in the limited-overs segment to avoid burning him out.

Bumrah’s partnership with Bhuvneshwar Kumar has more room to blossom as well, with the latter improving his pace and being particularly effective when the ball is swinging. The World Cup is likely to provide opportunities for both bowlers to exploit their strengths and ideally complement one another. With time and proper guidance, there’s no telling what the duo could accomplish together.

All in all, Jasprit Bumrah has been a revelation for Indian fast bowling. He has all the tools necessary to win important games for India in the future – provided that he stays fit. His accuracy and pace is a rarity for the nation’s bowlers and he will only get better with experience. Given that Bumrah only started playing international cricket in 2016, he has a long way to go. Indian fans will hope to see their Boomerang charge in and bowl yorkers to floor batsmen for years to come.