Jasprit Bumrah is one for running the hard yards. His idea of a perfect place for bowling is a country with weather that can’t decide and a ball that won’t behave. India’s red-ball series against England is his next assignment in whites. He had to pull out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the final Test with a back spasm and is practically itching to step out with a freshly picked cherry in his hand. A suspicion in his voice as he spoke to Michael Clarke on the Beyond23 YouTube channel signalled his eagerness.
“Playing in England is always a different challenge. I always love bowling with the Dukes ball.”
“I don’t know how much the Dukes ball is doing right now because there’s always constant changes to the ball. But the weather, the swinging conditions. And then when the ball becomes soft, there’s always a challenge. So I always look forward to playing in England.”
The last time he played red-ball cricket in England was in 2022 in a tour that spanned over a year, thanks to Covid-19. Nevertheless, he ended up as the highest wicket-taker in the series, with 23 wickets at an average of 22.47. This time, India’s pace cartel is travelling with newer inductees, including Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.
When asked what he thinks of England’s new all-out batting strategy, Bumrah didn’t pretend to have answers, but he was quite confident that the Indian bowling attack knows how to pin down an ‘ultra-aggressive’ batting lineup.
“They’re playing an interesting style of cricket which is interesting because I don’t really understand it too much,” Bumrah said. “But as a bowling unit, we always feel confident that when the batters are being ultra-aggressive, on a given day, anybody could run through and get wickets.”
It’s as neat a summary as possible. The Indian quick has never been the loudest in the room, and something about him tells me that he is well aware of the value of awaiting the chaos to unfold.
Still, it would be too reckless of India to force him into all five Tests spread over nearly one and a half months. Ajit Agarkar confirmed that Bumrah’s workload management would be prioritised, and the Indian pacer knows, too, that even he can’t have it all.
“Obviously, it is tough for any individual to keep playing everything for so long. I’ve been doing it for a while, but eventually you have to understand where your body is going, what is the important tournament.”
“You have to be a little selective and smart about how you use your body. As a cricketer, I would never want to leave anything and always keep on going. But I don’t set goals or look at numbers. Whenever I have [set goals], I’ve never been able to fulfil them.”
“I just try and enjoy because that’s why I started [playing] this sport. Take one day at a time and collect memories because, at the end of the [career in] sport, that’s all I’ll remember.”
