New Delhi, June 17: Jasprit Bumrah, India’s fast bowling talisman, is already casting a long shadow over the upcoming five-Test series against England, with two of England’s modern greats – Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler – showering rich praise on the pacer’s skill, uniqueness and match-winning potential.
Speaking on the ‘For the Love of Cricket’ podcast, the retired fast bowling legend Stuart Broad compared Bumrah’s bowling action and delivery stride to the great Glenn McGrath, describing him as “the player to watch out for” in the marquee series that kicks off Friday in Leeds.
“He jogs in, you will be thinking ‘this will be 70 miles an hour’ and it hits you at 90 and you don’t get a real flow,” Broad said, explaining how Bumrah’s deceptive pace and rhythmless approach confound batters. “When I faced Shoaib Akhtar, he sprinted in at a hundred miles an hour and delivered at a hundred miles an hour. You were ready. But Bumrah is so balanced, in his run-up – it’s a short-stride pattern, so he never gets over stride and out of balance.” Broad, who bagged 604 Test wickets in a glittering career, went on to say, “I look at Glenn McGrath – he had the most balanced delivery stride that I watched, and Bumrah is the same.”
While Bumrah’s inclusion for all five Tests has not been guaranteed – with Indian selectors and head coach Gautam Gambhir opting to manage his workload – Broad made it clear that the pacer’s presence across all matches could significantly tilt the scales in India’s favour. “He is going to be certainly one to watch and certainly someone that England won’t want to play five Tests, because if he does, he’s going to pick up a shedload of wickets, isn’t he?” Broad stated emphatically.
The 38-year-old also recalled a fiery passage of play involving Bumrah in Australia, capturing the essence of his combative spirit. “There was that great bit of play in Australia wherein he got in a scrap in the last over with (Sam) Konstas and (Usman) Khawaja was on strike. He nicked Khawaja off, got him out. He was screaming and roaring. He has definitely got that; every fast bowler has to have that emotion in him, but there is a real sharpness to his competitive spirit (and) that he has grown up in that Virat Kohli era.”
Jos Buttler, England’s former white-ball captain, echoed Broad’s sentiments, calling Bumrah the biggest superstar in the touring Indian squad. “I don’t think there’s a bigger star in that touring squad than Jasprit Bumrah,” he said, underlining the bowler’s aura and threat. Buttler dissected the technical difficulties of facing Bumrah, crediting his action and angles for the trouble he causes.
“Facing him, he creates awkward angles, the run-up is unique, the action is unique. I think I have seen the side-ons (bowlers), but he delivers the ball from about a foot or even a bit more closer to the batsman than the average bowler, so the ball feels quicker even than the pace he is actually bowling at.”
Speaking from personal experience, Buttler confessed that Bumrah’s inward angle made him feel trapped. “For me as a right-hander, it always felt like it was coming in, but he could beat me on the outside, and you sort of find yourself in a horrible position, squared up and a bit of a sitting target,” he explained.
Summing up, Buttler called Bumrah “a superstar bowler” and stressed the importance of England countering his threat to succeed in the series. “That’s what you expect in international cricket – you are going to come up against great players, and certainly someone England will need to play well to have good success.”
IANS