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Jasprit Bumrah in action. (FILE photo)
Jasprit Bumrah is one of those rare bowlers who can make an impact on the Test matches regardless of the conditions. Former Indian coach Abhishek Nayar was of the opinion that Bumrah is going to be lethal yet again on the Kolkata black soil wicket ahead of the first India vs South Africa match starting on Friday.
“Those conditions, black soil, he is going to be lethal. Someone, the opposition is going to be discussing a lot about, and no matter how much you discuss, when you stand and you have to face him, it’s a completely different ball game. When Bumrah is in your attack, it kind of takes away from everyone else, and your focus is solely on Jasprit Bumrah picking wickets,” Nayar said.
“Workload management again, he has been playing a lot of cricket, which is amazing to see. Luckily, in this T20 format (series against Australia), there were two games that were washed out. He will be relatively fresh and relatively excited because he is going to get conditions that he is going to really, really enjoy,” Nayar observed.
Workload management
Bumrah has come under sharp criticism of late when he revealed he is going to play only three of the five-match Tests against England earlier in the year.
India’s 1983 World Cup-winning seamer Balvinder Singh Sandhu has slammed all critics of Jasprit Bumrah’s workload management following his limited role in the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England. Sandhu, who has worked with Bumrah for years before he broke into the national side, questioned why fans and experts did not lambast star batters who have opted for breaks during the cricketing calendar over the last seven years, wherein the team’s star speedster only had an average of three days per fixture.
“In these seven years, how many batsmen have gone without injury breaks? How many have opted out of a series quietly? Nobody really questions them. But when it comes to a fast bowler, everyone seems ready to pounce. The truth is — fast bowling is brutal,” wrote Sandhu in a column for Mid-Day earlier at the time.
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