London, June 9
India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is up and running in Beckenham, putting in the hard yards before the upcoming five high-stakes Tests against England, slated to kick off on June 20 at Headingley.
A new era beckons for India in the Test format as the modern-day giants gear up for their first assignment without the prized batting bigwigs Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Shubman Gill, India's youngest Test captain, has taken the baton from Rohit to guide the nation to success and challenge for the World Test Championship mace.
During India's training session in Beckenham, Kent's second home venue, Bumrah displayed his unparalleled mastery in the art of pace bowling. With the ball in his hand, Bumrah showed signs of breaking the notion of requiring assistance from the surface to wreak havoc.
Deemed to be the world's current best, Bumrah extracted significant seam movement and constantly tested the outside edge of batters. He constrained the batters inside the crease with his searing yorker-length deliveries, according to ESPNcricinfo.
The 31-year-old could be heard chatting with India bowling coach Morne Morkel about his two five-fors at Trent Bridge, according to ESPNcricinfo. He talked about how, on his first trip in 2018, the Duke's ball was doing things in swing and seam-friendly conditions. But on his later tours, it became less responsive.
Bumrah's utilisation will remain limited throughout the five Tests in England. During the announcement of India's squad for the upcoming Test tour of England, chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed Bumrah was advised not to contest in consecutive Tests as part of his workload management. The precaution around Bumrah's usage stems from a stress reaction in the back during the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney in January.
He missed India's victory campaign in the Champions Trophy and returned to action for the Mumbai Indians in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL). Last week, head coach Gautam Gambhir revealed that they have yet to take a call on which Tests India will field Bumrah in the playing XI.
India's Test squad for England series: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Bumrah is pure gold for Indian cricket! ðŸ His ability to trouble batters even in flat conditions makes him special. But I'm worried about this workload management - we need him fully fit for crucial matches. Hope selectors use him wisely in this long series.
Excited to see how Shubman Gill leads this young team! No Kohli-Rohit era begins now. Bumrah's experience will be crucial to guide the new players. England conditions are tough but our boys have the talent to shine 💪
Why risk Bumrah in all matches? We have good bench strength with Siraj, Prasidh. Better to save Bumrah for 2nd and 4th Tests when conditions might favor pace more. Health first, trophies will follow!
Bumrah's yorkers are lethal but I hope our batters are preparing well too. England's Anderson-Broad will test our young batting lineup. Jaiswal, Gill need to show patience at crease. Test cricket is different from IPL!
Bumrah's chat with Morkel shows his cricketing brain. He's not just about pace but understands conditions deeply. That's what makes him world class. Hope he passes this knowledge to younger bowlers like Arshdeep.
Mixed feelings - excited for new era but will miss seeing Kohli's intensity in England. Hope BCCI is monitoring Bumrah's fitness properly. His back issues are concerning. Maybe reduce his IPL workload next season?
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