India will play a five-match Test series against England, starting June 20. Ahead of that, there’s plenty of attention on ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who was adjudged Player of the Series in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which concluded earlier in the year. He has been India’s go-to bowler in any format, but injuries have bothered the pacer several times in the past and the current team management is aware of that and stated that Bumrah might not feature in all five Tests against England.
Ahead of that, former England cricketer Stuart Broad analysed Bumrah’s bowling, noting that the pacer runs at 70 miles an hour and hits the surface at 90. He talked about Shoaib Akhtar, who had a long run-up and used to deliver at the same pace but Bumrah, on the other hand, has a much balanced run-up with a ‘short-stride pattern’. Broad compared it with legendary pacer Glenn McGrath, who took 563 wickets in 124 Tests.
“He (Bumrah) 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. When I faced Shoaib Akhtar, he sprint in at a hundred miles an hour and delivered at a hundred miles an hour," Broad said in the podcast ‘For the Love of Cricket’.
“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 of balance. I look at Glenn McGrath (who) had the most balanced delivery stride that I watched and Bumrah is the same,” he added.
Bumrah likely to play three Tests in England
The Indian team management has indicated that Bumrah is likely to play three Test matches in the upcoming series, but hasn’t decided on which ones. Captain Shubman Gill noted that the call will be taken, looking at the conditions and chances of rain.
