It was a conversation with Ian Bishop days after the World Test Championship final in June 2023. And even before I asked him anything, he said to me, “Jasprit Bumrah.” After a brief pause, he added, “India have not had Bumrah in the World T20 and the WTC final. You need Bumrah if you have to win such key tournaments.”
Had Bumrah been at The Oval when Australia were 76-3, who knows what might have happened. While counter history is always fascinating and we love such scenarios, the truth is Bumrah is one of the greatest, if not the best, fast bowlers India has produced. Skill, pace, impact and, most importantly, the mental scars he inflicts on opposition batters have no parallel in the world.
Take the Vizag Test. On what was supposed to be a slow turner, it was Bumrah’s extraordinary first innings spell that set things up for India. The Ollie Pope delivery, now part of the Bumrah story, will forever be talked about in the list of lethal yorkers with telling impact.
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If the first innings was an absolute masterclass, the second innings effort was no less. Yes, he picked up fewer wickets but the way he bowled was a story. If you closely watched Bumrah as he ran in, you would have seen the effort. Fast bowling, which goes against every normal thing the human body is expected to do, is in itself a kind of aberration. With Bumrah and his action, it is even more problematic. With each ball, his body takes a pounding. The effort is visible and that relentless intensity was what finally pushed England to the wall.
Take the Ben Foakes – Tom Hartley partnership. Kevin Pietersen, on commentary, had just said that England still had a chance. The two had already put on a 50-run stand and India were starting to get frustrated. A review had been wasted and things were starting to get tense. Hartley had started to attack R Ashwin and, to use the cliche, a breakthrough was badly needed. In came Bumrah yet again. Setting up Foakes for five balls in the over, the last was the deceptive slower ball. Almost 15 km/hr less rapid and delivered with the same action, Foakes just did not pick it. By the time he did, he had already committed himself and the ball looped to Bumrah on his follow-through. It was as if Bumrah was expecting it. He stayed low and pouched the chance easily. The wicket had fallen and India were close. And then, when Jimmy Anderson and Hartley were prolonging the fight, Bumrah bowled yet another beauty to castle Hartley. Providence? May well be. Arms aloft and body bent at 45 degrees to soak up all the applause, Bumrah had led India to a series-levelling victory.
It very rarely happens that someone who has scored a double-hundred isn’t nominated player of the match. It happened in Vizag. And very rightly so. Yashasvi Jaiswal was brilliant, no doubt. But it was Bumrah who made the telling difference in the game. On a good pitch, it was an extraordinary spell that set it up and another special burst that helped close things.
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Can Bumrah keep this going for three more Test matches? Will his body hold up, and can India push him when the T20 World Cup too isn’t far away? With half the side already out to injury, you need Bumrah at his best to win this series and keep India’s enviable home record intact.
If there is one player India need to protect and preserve, it is Bumrah. There is no one like him, and honestly no replacement in sight. As we celebrate Bumrah, all we can hope is that he stays fit and healthy to lead the attack in Rajkot and beyond. Bumrah running in and hurling those deliveries at pace is a sight that India’s cricket fans love to watch. For England, however, it is a view best avoided.