Jasprit Bumrah is going to spearhead the fast bowling contingent of India in what promises to be a gripping five-match Test series against Australia, with the first match set to commence on 22nd November in Perth. Meanwhile, how well he performs with the ball is likely to be one of the crucial factors in determining the outcome of the series. In the last two tours of Australia, Bumrah managed to perform very well and this time the expectations from him are no different. Besides Bumrah, who is likely to captain the Indian side for the first Test at Optus Stadium, Sydney, Pat Cummins is also one of the few players who will matter a lot in this series. The Australian Test match captain was also the highest wicket-taker in the last Test series of these two nations played in Australia and even now he is in a very good form.
Before the commencement of the series, when two of the best teams in the ICC rankings clash, former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie, now the head coach of Pakistan, narrated what interests him in Bumrah and Cummins’ abilities.
As per Gillespie, Bumrah’s and Cummins’ most powerful weapon is to be found in their attacking approach. They challenge the batters with their lines and lengths, and they do it at a good pace.
“Their major strength is that they are pretty relentless in attacking the batters. They have a good pace and bowl challenging lines and lengths. They are always asking questions about batsmen’s technique. Always there is that question with a batsman that if he does not play the right shots he will get out. So… they are steady with their accuracy and discipline but they can also bowl those unplayable balls. Wether it swings very late or there is just that extra half a yard of pace or it does something off the surface which not many bowlers have. There seems to be far better ability in them to make a wicket happen when it appears that there will not be any. They manage to make it happen without much apparent effort, Gillespie told the Indian express.
“The batsmen must assess the risks and rewards of the shots they play every other ball whenever Bumrah and Cummins bowl. They seem to always ascertain the batsman. These bowlers do not only bowl outside the off-stump looking for edges or pitch bouncers well above the batsman’s head, or leg side balls. They appear to bowl close and around the off stump most of the time. The batsmen have to either defend on the front foot or back foot or leave it off the front foot or back foot. One doesn’t see them getting cut, pulled, or driven very often. It is because they are so accurate that those bad balls do appear rather less,” he added.
The ex-Australian fast bowler, who had several encounters with India in Tests and One Day Internationals during his era, praised Siraj for being a nice bowler and performing well too on the last tour of Australia but noted that it is Bumrah who will be the trump card bowler for India in the next series.
“Mohammed Siraj is a nice bowler; I also remember he bowled some really good spells the last time he was here. However, I still believe that the key bowler for India is Bumrah,” he said.
Bumrah has so far played seven Tests in Australia and has taken 32 wickets.
