With the fervor for India's highly anticipated five-Test series against England kicking off this Friday in Leeds, one name is already taking center stage—Jasprit Bumrah.
The Indian pace leader has received glowing praise from two of England's cricketing legends, Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler, who praised his match-winning traits and unique approach.
In an appearance on the For the Love of Cricket podcast, former England seamer Stuart Broad compared Bumrah's run-up to that of great Aussie swing-bowling legend Glenn McGrath and called him the "player to watch" for the series.
He jogs in, you'll be thinking, 'This will be 70 miles an hour,' and it whacks you at 90," Broad said, highlighting how Bumrah's innocently smooth run-up deceives people about the actual speed. "With Shoaib Akhtar, you could see the speed a mile away. Bumrah's style, though, is tight and even-paced—he never loses the rhythm or oversteps.
Broad, who retired with an impressive 604 Test wickets, elaborated further: “McGrath had the most balanced delivery stride I’ve ever seen—and Bumrah mirrors that quality. It’s very rare.”
Though it’s uncertain whether Bumrah will feature in all five matches—India’s team management under head coach Gautam Gambhir is expected to rotate bowlers to manage workloads—Broad didn’t hold back his view on the impact Bumrah could have.
"If he plays all five, England's in trouble," Broad cautioned. "He'll take a heap of wickets. He's a serious threat."
Broad also recalled a fiery moment during India's previous tour of Australia that highlighted Bumrah's explosive personality. "That last-over session where he was terrorising Sam Konstas, and then bowled out Usman Khawaja, bellowing in triumph—that's what you need from your strike bowler. He's got the fight in him, the edge, particularly having developed as a player during the Virat Kohli leadership era.
England's former limited-overs captain Jos Buttler seconded Broad's views, referring to Bumrah as the Indian team's undisputed star. "There's no bigger name in that touring side than Jasprit Bumrah," Buttler said.
Buttler, having been pitched against Bumrah across all formats, spoke about how difficult the right-armer is to play. "He's so unorthodox—his action, the angle, the release—it's all different. He's about a foot shorter in front of the batsman than most bowlers when he delivers the ball. It makes the ball seem quicker than it actually is," Buttler noted.
Sharing his own battles against Bumrah, Buttler explained the inward angle of delivery had made it particularly difficult. "As a right-hander, it always seemed like the ball was coming in at me, then he'd get me outside. You're caught off balance, jammed, squared up—it's not a pleasant position to be."
Buttler concluded his comments by emphasizing Bumrah's superstar status and the necessity for England to form a definite plan to nullify his impact. "He's a world-class bowler, and if England want to win this series, countering Bumrah will be key."
With India's Test team reaching England with great expectations and Bumrah leading the pack of their bowlers, his contributions in the series can quite possibly be the deciding factor. Whether he plays all five Tests or gets rotated sensibly, the fact remains—Jasprit Bumrah has already established himself.
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