IND VS NZ | Don't get obsessed with Jasprit Bumrah, states Ashish Nehra
According to Ashish Nehra, fans and management need to get rid of this obsession with Jasprit Bumrah's ability to deliver the goods every single time. Bumrah has recently struggled in ODIs with just one wicket from six games and went wicketless in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand.
As the ODI series went ahead, the Indian fast bowling stocks looked depleted after speedster Jasprit Bumrah set his own record for not picking up a single wicket in the entire three-match ODI series against New Zealand. After being out with a stress fracture since September and making his return to international cricket in January during the home series against Sri Lanka and Australia, Bumrah didn’t look menacing as he used to be - picking up nine wickets from 14 games.
The former India fast bowler Ashish Nehra who himself had gone through several rough patches during overseas tour jumped in for Bumrah’s defence where he advised fans and management to get rid of this obsession with the fast bowler’s ability to deliver the goods every single time. Nehra also mentioned about Bumrah's injury as he himself has gone through several in his career, stating that it can be tough for a fast bowler to immediately find back his rhythm.
“You can’t expect Bumrah to deliver in every series. One has to remember he is returning from injury. It’s difficult for anybody to keep performing at the top of his game all the time. Even Virat Kohli has had a quiet series. Bowling length balls at the death is not a crime. Bowling yorkers incessantly is not an easy thing. If you have pace then you can play around with your length and vary your pace,” Nehera said as quoted by Times of India.
In the T20 series, the only eye-catching performance was the 3/12 he claimed in the final T20I at the Bay Oval. In the third match in Hamilton, the fast bowler was taken apart by Kane Williamson who derailed the pacer off his track. With Bumrah losing a bit of edge since his return, Nehra feels the team management could do better in terms of using the rest of their bowling stock.
“The Indian team management could be much better while picking the playing XI. The other pacers, besides Bumrah and (Mohammad) Shami, need to know their roles. They have got used to having Bumrah and Shami firing for the last two years. There’s too much pressure on Bumrah. There has been very little consistency in the team selection so far,” Nehra said.
Speaking of Test cricket, Nehra has called Mohammed Shami as the best pacer for the format, and wants Navdeep Saini to make his debut in Wellington. Saini, in total has played 15 limited-overs matches for India where he managed to pick 18 scalps and has impressed with his pace. Nehra is confident that the time is right to give the Delhi pacer his Test cap.
“Shami is currently the best Test bowler in India. He doesn’t depend on conditions and pitches. In the current scenario, Saini is better prepared for Test cricket than Umesh Yadav, since he has the momentum with the team. But he largely depends on the back-of-a-length deliveries. If he can get his length a bit fuller at his pace, he would open up more chances of getting wickets behind the stumps.”
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