Dealing with Bumrah

MICHAEL CLARKE SAID it aptly. “Jasprit Bumrah is the best all-format bowler that I have seen. I can’t bring in Glenn McGrath or Wasim Akram into the comparison because they weren’t around to play T-20 cricket. But since the time T-20 started, Bumrah is by far the best all-format bowler to play the sport. At one level the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was between Australia and the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah.”

In some ways he is right. India won in Perth largely because of the brilliance of Bumrah. After getting bowled out for 150, it was the Bumrah spell that turned things around and had Australia on the mat. All through the series it was Bumrah who tormented the Australian batters. So much so that Usman Khawaja, who played a key hand in the Sydney win, said they were elated to see Bumrah not there to bowl in the Australian second innings in the spiciest wicket of the series. In his words, he was “Bumrah-ed” all through the Australian summer.

That’s what brings me to say India should be extremely careful with Bumrah. He is the one player in the current set-up who is indispensable. Not Virat Kohli, not Rishabh Pant, not anyone else. It is Jasprit Bumrah India cannot do without. At the moment the plan is for Bumrah to rest up a bit and report at the NCA for a series of tests. He has swelling on his back and they need to determine the degree of the injury before making a final announcement on his return. While the selectors will surely want him to play the Champions Trophy, especially with India taking on Pakistan in one of the high-voltage matches on February 23 in Dubai, the reality is Bumrah cannot be risked. It is a back injury and not the first one. For someone with an awkward action, the chances of back injuries are always there and with the five-Test series in England just a few months away, India cannot afford to risk Bumrah.

Can India do without Bumrah in the Champions Trophy? Will it not dent India’s chances? The truth is, Bumrah is essential to any Indian campaign but it is also true that if there is any tournament where he is less important it has to be the Champions Trophy. Given the kind of conditions expected in Dubai, the dependence on spinners will be more than on faster bowlers and with Mohammed Shami back in the groove, India should be able to manage without Bumrah. Also, it is a given that he has to play all matches for Mumbai Indians in the IPL and the Test series in England is lined up soon after the T-20 extravaganza. Given the volume of cricket scheduled in the next few months, it is prudent to not risk Bumrah for the Champions Trophy. His skill-set is unique and if he is unable to play the England series where he is expected to be captain as well, it will be a telling blow for India. With all of these considerations in mind, my opinion is that Bumrah should not play the Champions Trophy.

The other debate is whether he should play in the IPL. Should he not skip the IPL and preserve himself for the England series? The truth is that this debate is a non-starter. Does any leading footballer miss the Champions League? And why is it that we have issues in accepting the IPL as a key cog of the Indian cricketing ecosystem? It is India’s only global sport brand and Bumrah’s presence in the IPL is essential not just for his franchise but also for the broadcasters who have spent thousands of crores of rupees in securing the rights. To ask why he is not skipping the IPL is to miss the point. IPL and its importance for Indian cricket are now well known and yet there is always an attempt to belittle the tournament and criticise it for what it is. Bumrah can never miss the IPL and it is not something that BCCI can ever enforce. Keeping the ground realities in mind, it will be a more prudent option to not push him into the Champions Trophy and allow him to get 100 per cent fit before he takes the field for the Mumbai Indians.

Some people might ask why there should be special treatment for Bumrah. The answer is simple: because he is unique. He is also India’s future red-ball captain and without him in England, India will be far less competitive. Bumrah, too, will know that he will have to shoulder the responsibility of India’s bowling attack in England and much like in Australia, all the others would be support bowlers at best. If Mohammed Siraj and Shami are both back, it will surely help but that doesn’t change the fact that it is Bumrah who will have to spearhead the attack. Also, his presence gives India a mental edge. The fact that India’s attack looked toothless in the second innings in Sydney was because there was no Bumrah. The wicket was conducive to pace and was the most helpful of all the five Test matches. And yet Siraj and Prasidh Krishna were not able to push Australia and the game was beyond India in no time in the second innings. That is where Bumrah holds the key. In almost every innings he had accounted for the Australia openers and in Sydney things would have been no different had he been there. A win there would have meant India retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and that’s how critical his absence turned out to be. Statistics of 32 wickets in the series at an average of 13 have a feel of the unreal and at this point he is indisputably the best in the world.

Having watched Bumrah closely, three things stand out. The first is how competitive he is. He runs in hard all day and every spell is effort personified. He has the ability to swing and seam the ball and also reverse swing it if conditions are helpful. Second, bowling at close to 140 kmph, Bumrah is almost impossible to play at times. That’s why he is India’s best player at the moment and has to be protected at any cost. If that means he misses the Champions Trophy, so be it. The England Test series is more important in the pecking order and BCCI knows which is priority. Finally, he is a very good leader as was evident in Perth and the first innings in Sydney. Now that it is known Rohit Sharma is almost done with his Test career, the mantle will pass to Bumrah for the next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.

To go back to Clarke: “His skill-set is such that not many in the world will find it comfortable playing him. While some bowlers are good in certain conditions, Bumrah is at ease in any condition in any part of the world. That’s what makes him a standout option for India. Even on subcontinental pitches, he is a handful with reverse swing. You have seen how good he is in Australia. In England, too, he will be superb. At this point he is your go-to player and Indian cricket needs to do everything to preserve him well. He is not turning any younger and as a fast bowler there is always the additional risk of injury. Keeping all of these things in mind, how India deals with Bumrah could well decide the outcome of the India England series in the summer”.

Champions TrophyIndian cricketJasprit BumrahMohammad ShamiMohammed SirajRohit Sharma