Jasprit Bumrah: Fitness is not the reason for being rested on the West Indies tour

The Indian team is scheduled to tour West Indies where they will play the home team in a series of five ODI matches and also compete in a T20 game. The team for the tour was announced yesterday and the selection committee made just two changes of replacing Rohit Sharma with Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah with Kuldeep Yadav.

While Rohit Sharma needed the break to maintain his fitness after a major hip injury, Bumrah clarified that he had no fitness issues and was rested for the tour as a part of his workload management.

“I am totally fine, they (selectors and team management) have told me to take rest. I am fully fit and there are no niggles. I am not disappointed. I have been doing things that I have been told to do,” he said.

Jasprit Bumrah has been impeccable in the Champions Trophy and apart from being economical, the right-arm pacer has been amongst wickets and has struck four times in the tournament as of now. The Gujarat bowler suggested that a hint of reverse swing helped him dominate the Bangladesh batsmen towards the ends of the innings.

“Well, it was a good day. The ball in the end was reverse swinging so that also helped. It always feels good when rhythm is going well. So whenever you are able to contribute to the team’s success, it’s good,” Bumrah said and added, “Dot balls help build pressure so even if you are not getting wickets, somebody from the other end is getting wickets and the job is done.” 

Bumrah is known for bowling yorkers at will which makes him a dangerous customer at any stage of the innings. The 23-year old revealed how he manages to vary the line accurately.

“It is not an easy delivery to bowl. You have to work hard. I always try and emphasize on having specific net sessions on ‘death bowling’. It is similar to length balls –the more you practice, the better you get at it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bumrah commented on Pakistan's unexpected entry into the finals saying,  “I am not at all surprised to see them (Pakistan) in the final. You never know anything can happen on any day. On their day, they can beat any side in the world. You can’t be complacent that now we are in finals. There are no easy games and you have to give them respect.”