Will be surprised if Jasprit Bumrah is not picked for Champions Trophy, says Shane Bond
Mumbai Indians bowling coach Shane Bond expects pacer Jasprit Bumrah to be an automatic choice in the Indian squad for the Champions Trophy to be played in England and Wales starting on June 1. The former Kiwi quick expects India's pace attack to be a handful in conditions that aid seam overseas.
Bumrah is a product of the IPL as he burst into the limelight in 2013 by bowling lethal yorkers to trouble batsmen and eventually earned his India cap in January last year. In fact, his bowling in the death overs was instrumental in India winning the T20 series against Australia. He went on to make a mark in ODIs as well, as a bowling spearhead and death-over specialist.
With nine wickets in eight matches, Bumrah is second on the list of Mumbai Indians wicket-takers this season.
“I will be surprised if he is not in the squad. He will be a good bowler in all formats. At the moment he is a good ODI and T20 bowler,” Bond was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
“India have been playing their cricket at home. Ashwin, Jadeja are phenomenal in these conditions. But it has allowed the seam bowlers to come and make a real impact and bowl quick. Umesh has developed as a bowler.
“Bhuvneshwar (Kumar) hasn’t played much and the benefits of his rest can be seen as his pace has come up again. So, when India (play) away from home, they have got a seam bowling attack which is going to be a handful, given the right conditions."
Bond also praised Hardik Pandya. “He (Hardik) is our quickest bowler along with Bumrah at the moment. I am really pleased with the way he is coming along and developing. He has got a lot on his plate. He’s a genuine all-rounder, so we have to be very careful about managing his bowling.
“Bumrah is a world class white-ball bowler with his reputation as a death bowler. He does bowl good yorkers. We try him with Hardik, get them to use a range of variations because people know Bum’s (Bumrah’s) yorkers are so good,” Bond concluded.