Jasprit Bumrah played only three Tests in the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, which ended up in a 2-2 draw. With the side lacking a bit of experience, there were mixed opinions when Bumrah, even before the series, said he was going to play only three Tests out of the five matches in the series.
Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane praised the clarity of Bumrah and his willingness to put the team’s needs ahead of his. “What I liked about the Bumrah situation was that he was pretty clear; he knew what he wanted to do before the series. He said, ‘I’ll play the first one, I won’t play the second one, and then I’ll play the third’. Great clarity for a captain. It shows that he has the courage to tell the captain and management to be really clear,” said Rahane on his YouTube channel.
“It also shows that he is keeping the team ahead of himself. Sometimes it is not easy to do so when you are playing for India. As a player, when you are representing India, it’s not easy. Sometimes players convey the same message to the team, and then they get dropped,” he added.
“It just shows that he wanted the team to be well prepared even when he wasn’t playing. Because of his unique action, there is a lot of load on his body. If you want Bumrah to play all five Tests, then use him in smaller spells like 3 overs or 4 overs,” said Rahane.
“I think England were wary of Bumrah when he was playing; ‘Bazball’ didn’t come out to the full extent. When Bumrah wasn’t there, they played a little freely. It is important to use him properly; you have to give him the luxury to get the best out of him,” he added.
In Mohammed Shami’s absence, and with Mohammed Siraj’s form being inconsistent in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier in the year, the Indian pace attack against the Bazballers did look short of cutting edge ahead of the series. However, as the series went on, the tide turned, Siraj upped his game, and the likes of Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna showed their mettle when the pressure was put on them.
