Always learn on the go, admits Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah in an exclusive interview to Hindustan Times recalled how he used adaptability to be his main strength in the South Africa tour before which he was an unknown entity in Test matches. Further, he recalled his performances in South Africa, England and Australia that shaped his career.
Before January 2018, despite his remarkable white-ball performances, no one knew what Jasprit Bumrah is capable of doing in Test matches. Virat Kohli and the team management unleashed India’s most successful limited-overs wicket-taker during that the phase of 2017-18, and the rest is history for Indian cricket. Last two years have seen Indian pacers take wickets in tandem, sometimes an innings seeing no wickets to spinners tally. One of the most reliable in that pack of fast bowlers is Bumrah.
His biggest strength is his adaptability asserts the pacer himself. His claim can be well proved by his record across all three formats. He recalled that in his debut match, he rectified his first innings mistakes in the second one.
“Yes, I always learn on the go. Like the way, I started in South Africa (where he made his Test debut in January 2018). I’d never gone to South Africa. I was playing my first Test. When you play in India, you look to bowl full because there’s not a lot of bounce over here. But in South Africa, I quickly realised that when I bowled full, they play through the line and it’s easier for them to play that length,” 26-year-old Bumrah told.
By the second innings, Bumrah was ‘hitting the deck’ more like Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. Adapting to new conditions is never easy but the ace Indian pacer revealed that he is always up for challenges.
“It’s not easy. But I am always keen on that challenge. I look forward to it, instead of being scared that (in trying to adapt) I will lose something that I have. I try something new, but without changing my game too much. If it’s not comfortable, then I try not to do it.”
After the South Africa tour, India headed to England in the latter half of 2018. Bumrah recalled his wicket of Keaton Jennings where he got him in a comical tangle with his deadly in-swinger.
“I had heard a Sky Sports commentator saying that I don’t have the in-swinger to the left hander, so the left hander can leave the ball outside off stump, they don’t have to play. In my head, I knew that I had the in-swinger. I thought if the players are listening, and if they don’t know that I have it,” revealed Bumrah.
“So, I bowl 2-3 deliveries that move out and I see that Jennings was just leaving the ball without even, you know, giving it a thought. I realised now, this is the time. In England, it helps as well because the ball actually swings!”
Bumrah is currently recovering from his injury that forced him out of action since India's tour to West Indies. The unorthodox pacer is set to make a comeback in the upcoming T20 series against Sri Lanka starting from January 5.
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