Australia has forever celebrated India’s batting greats. Be it Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman or, more recently, Virat Kohli, every tour Down Under has seen the Aussie media talk up India’s batting legends. Tendulkar was a long-term favourite and ever since the 1992 hundreds in Sydney and at the WACA in Perth, he was given standing ovations each time he walked out to bat. Since 2018, this level of adulation was reserved for Kohli. Hailing him as the “King”, the build-up revolved around him during the last two tours.
In all of this, one thing stood out. Never was an Indian bowler celebrated as much, whether that was the great Kapil Dev or Zaheer Khan or Anil Kumble. All have had stellar performances in Australia, but never was it about them. That’s where Jasprit Bumrah is different. From Travis Head saying he would tell his grandchildren he faced Bumrah to Michael Clarke saying, “He has come to our shores and taught us how to bowl”, we are seeing a very different kind of build-up as far as Bumrah is concerned.
While Bumrah deserves every bit of the praise coming his way, it also tells us two things. First and foremost, how good he is. He is a once-in-a-generation bowler and perhaps the best pacer to come out of India. And he is getting better and better with every Test match and series. Second, he now seems to have a mental stranglehold on the Australians, for it is very un-Australian to talk up an opposition bowler in the middle of a series. It is as if they know Bumrah will get them, that he is just too good. Ahead of the pink-ball Test, the talk is not about how good Mitchell Starc is with the pink ball. Rather, it is about Bumrah who has played with the pink ball just three times in his career.
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Clearly, this is a new Australia. Whether it because of the IPL and the new-found camaraderie between Indian and Australian players, with the Indian cricket market calling the shots, is a subject for debate. Either way, it tells us something about how important Bumrah is to this team and to world cricket. It is as if the Australians are speaking about him with a reverential tone. And no one has talked about taking Bumrah on. May be that’s why all this talk of Australia panicking is gaining ground.
Bumrah, on the other hand, seems completely unfazed. He has a very good head on his shoulders and it is his temperament that has carried him this far. Blessed with extreme skill, he has stayed rooted and knows the job has only begun Down Under. With captain Rohit Sharma back with the team, Bumrah can now focus entirely on his bowling. He will know that one more defining spell in Adelaide could decide this series.
Steve Smith, who survived an injury scare at the nets on Tuesday, hasn’t looked comfortable against Bumrah and how he plays India’s premier fast bowler under lights with the pink ball could well be pivotal. In fact, it could yet again be Smith and Marnus Labuschagne versus Bumrah. A battle within the larger one that could decide the pink-ball Test and the series. If Bumrah wins again, the reverence will only grow in the coming weeks.
Also Read: Pink Balls, 4-hour nets, and scores of fans: Team India’s nets in Adelaide decoded