Jasprit Bumrah could be back sooner than expected: Here's why
India suffered a setback when their number one pacer Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the just-concluded Test series against South Africa, due to stress fracture. As a result, he was also not selected for the upcoming T20I and Test series against Bangladesh. While he was expected to be out of action for a long time, bowling coach Bharat Arun has some good news.
According to Arun, Bumrah is not required to undergo a surgery, which puts him in the light for a timely return. However, since fast-bowling is a tiring activity, he did not wish to guarantee things. "We expect Bumrah to be back sooner than later, hopefully in time for the New Zealand Test series that is our next big challenge," Arun told The Hindu.
Bumrah last stint with India was in September 2019 during the Tests in Windies, where he scripted these records: He's the third bowler to claim a Test hat-trick in Windies after Jermaine Lawson and Matthew Hoggard. He is also the second Asian after Nuwan Zoysa to claim a Test hat-trick outside Asia. He's the quickest Indian pacer to claim a five-for, in 5.5 overs.
Besides Bumrah, Arun also went on to praise fellow Indian pacer Umesh Yadav for his impressive performance against Proteas. He also credited him for bowling quick and in better channels, prompting the batsmen to make mistakes. "He's got reverse swing, has a nasty short ball. He and Shami, who is fast, accurate and dangerous, are a potent combination," he said.
Arun also spoke on the current spin options for India, as he was spoilt by the number of choices they have. However, he hailed the top performance by Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja against Proteas. "He's [Ashwin] among the best spinners in the world, top class. Ravindra Jadeja grabbed his chance, giving us control with the ball and solidity with the bat," he continued.
"Away from home, if we have to pick one of the two in the eleven, it will be horses for courses looking at the conditions. Then we have Kuldeep Yadav who picked five with his wrist-spin in his last Test, in Sydney," he concluded.
