Jasprit Bumrah has been the mainstay of the Indian bowling attack for long. Since his debut for Team India in 2016, Bumrah has been the spearhead of the Indian bowling attack. Doesn't matter the situation or whether a captain needs attacking or defensive bowling, Bumrah offers both and turns the situation in favour of his team. Since his Test debut, Bumrah has been as lethal as he was in limited overs game with the red ball in hand. The year 2024 has been a rather successful year for him as he has helped India win the T20 World Cup 2024 and also jumped up to the number 1 ranking for bowler in Tests. Happy Birthday Jasprit Bumrah: Fans Wish Team India Pacer As He Turns 31.

Just more than a year ago, all these seemed improbable as Bumrah was out injured for nearabout two years. Back injury kept troubling him and there was always doubt if he could return to competitive action or be as effective as he was. Not only did Bumrah made a successful comeback, but he was also threatening with the ball in the ICC ODI World Cup and then had a very successful IPL as well. Now he has emerged as a nightmare for the Australian Test team batters while touring the nation with Team India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

In this article, we will look at five things that makes facing Bumrah a major problem for batters across formats.

1. Hyperextension:

Hyperextension is a movement in the same direction as the ball, which is allowed for people with hyper-mobile joints. For Jasprit Bumrah, it is a forward flexion of his arm that's part of his unique bowling action. This action is very difficult to read for the batters. Not only it generates more force behind the ball, it also makes the ball release from a point far closer to the batter than any other bowler. As Bumrah bowls a consistent high pace, not being able to read the action added with lesser reaction time makes it very difficult to face him.

2.  Consistent Release Point:

There are several bowlers who vary their release points while using variations and it becomes rather easier for the batters to pick cues from the bowler. For Bumrah, his release point for his different balls remains the same. With same action, he is able to bowl yorkers, bouncers, slower bouncers, cutters. That makes life for batters extremely difficult as they only have the option to read it off the wicket which gives them very very less time to react.

3. Variations

The bigger a bowler's arsenal is, the more threatening he is. But not all bowlers are able to use their range to the fullest extent. Bumrah has every trick up his sleeve. He can swing the ball, hit the deck hard, use seam movement, bowl bouncers, cutters, yorkers and also set batters up. But he also knows when to use what. If a batter tries to cover for a certain strength of Bumrah, he will bring another trick up to push him back. That is why dealing with him is extremely difficult.

4. Ability to Read Batters

Bumrah has a wise head on his shoulders. His bowling is about bowling fast. He has the amazing ability to read batters. Most cricketers use a trigger movement and he can read them targeting their weakness. Be it coming over or round the wicket, or wide of the crease or close to the stumps. Bumrah can think tactically. If a bowler is one step ahead of the batters in terms of thinking, he can control the pace of the game with his own terms.

5. Control

There has been instances when skilled bowlers lose control of the ball and end up conceding runs and underperforming or end up being unable to use the tactics as it was planned. This is not a problem for Bumrah as he has amazing control over what he can do. Even at places like South Africa or Australia, he has been able to hit cracks or indentations at will, controlling uneven bounce or natural variation of seam movement to his advantage. Batters have nothing but to hope for a play and miss in these situations. ‘Boom Boom Bumrah Kid’ Is Back! Four Years After His Viral Chants for Jasprit Bumrah, Little Fan Has a Message for Indian Pacer Ahead of IND vs AUS Adelaide Test (Watch Video).

Jasprit Bumrah has many additional strengths and these are just a few ones that are top over a sea of skills. He keeps growing in stature and legacy and there has been already comparisons of him with peak Wasim Akram, Malcom Marshall or Sir Richard Hadlee. Bumrah has been taking huge steps towards achieving greatness and with a lot of cricket still remaining with him, fans will hope he stays injury free and keeps troubling batters.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 06, 2024 07:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).