“Boom” it will rip the nets, tests Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ahead of Afghanistan series

NEW DELHI: Jasprit Bumrah took two months to rejoin the Indian team after suffering a knee injury on the England tour. On Friday night, when he came out to score his run at the nets here at the Ferozeshah Kotla ahead of the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, effortlessly running in five strides, it was clear that he had fully recovered. The first delivery whizzed off the pitch and rattled into the stumps.The first 10 deliveries he sent down to Sanju Samson and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had the rival openers entrenched in their creases. Familiar yorkers and deliveries seamed both ways from a good length were in full display. It was hard to believe that Bumrah was ending a long layoff due to injury. The significance of his 45-minute spell under the lights augurs a busy season for India.Over the last half-decade, team managements have been very wary of Bumrah. It is no longer about how many matches Bumrah plays. It’s about staying fit to play superhero, organizing rescue packages in crisis tournaments and series. A full-fledged Indian team appearing at the Asian Games may be a great advertisement for cricket’s Olympic aspirations, but next year’s team calendar leading up to the ODI World Cup in South Africa may require Indian cricket administrators to be judicious about the soon-to-be 33-year-old star pacer.Once part of a revered bowling pool that included Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and a young Mohammed Siraj, Bumrah now carries the full weight of India’s fast bowling attack. Siraj’s recent dramatic dip in form has worried the selectors and team management.The coming five months are crucial for India’s survival in this World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, before the focus shifts to the ODI format only.With the ODI and Test series in New Zealand set to begin in the next 50 days, the team management would want Bumrah to be at his best. He is now a comfortable civil servant in the team and has been seen constantly chatting in the nets with young pacers like Yash Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy.BCCI’s sports science and medical teams will be on high alert next year to ensure India gets the best out of Bumrah.

Which aspect of Bumrah’s bowling is most impressive?

More than 3,000 users shared the opinion today

More than 5,000 users have already voted today

More than 3,000 users shared the opinion today

Share an opinion