Difficult for Jasprit Bumrah to hold his body up with short run-up, opines Michael Holding
Bumrah's short action makes him a dangerous bowler
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Michael Holding has stated that Jasprit Bumrah’s extremely short run-up makes him injury-prone, something that he told the Indian pacer during the World Cup in England. Holding further added that Bumrah’s short run-up makes it extremely difficult for the batsmen to pick his pace.
Ever since he weaved his magic in the Indian Premier League to be fast-tracked into the Indian side, Bumrah’s deceptive and top-arm bowling action made him the cynosure of all eyes. He gradually took his form to the red-ball set-up, where he was an instant hit. But once he suffered a back injury during India’s tour of West Indies, he took time off the game, and his return has been an underwhelming one. Holding stated that it was Bumrah’s short run-up that puts him in the brink of an injury, something that he already told the pacer during the World Cup.
"My problem with Bumrah and I mentioned it to him when last time I saw him in England, is how long that body will hold up with that short-run and the amount of effort he has to put into his bowling, it is a human body. It is not a machine," Holding said on the 'Sony Ten Pit Stop' show, reported PTI.
"Bumrah hits the deck hard and that creates more problems. And especially with that short run, it is difficult for batsmen to formulate in their minds the pace at which that ball is coming. People talk about bowlers who hit the deck hard and bowlers who just skid off the surface. Malcolm Marshall, for instance, a great fast bowler, he skidded the ball off the surface, more than hitting the deck.”
While Bumrah has been an absolute force in the last four years for the Indian side, Mohammed Shami’s second-coming has been nothing short of extraordinary. His ability to pounce on the unhelpful sub-continent conditions, with pure reliance on the seam rather than swing, has made him one of the best red-ball bowlers currently. Holding was all praise for the Bengal pacer for his ability to spray the ball all over the place.
"It is important to have pace, but you have got to have control as well and both of these guys have control. Shami is not very tall, is not extremely quick, but is quick enough. And he has the control and he moves the ball around a bit,” the 68-year-old added.
“You don't find Shami spraying the ball all over the place. When you spray the ball all over the place, batsmen get relief, watching those balls go away. If you are constantly (bowling) in the right areas, attacking these batsmen, it creates more and more pressure and they are more liable to make mistakes. So that is Shami's real strength," elaborated Holding, who picked 249 wickets from 60 Tests.
