‘Hitting the deck so hard’ is what we can see from the man- Jasprit Bumrah.
There were only some bowlers in the history of cricket who have done this, to name a few: Dale Steyn, Shoaib Akthar, and Brett Lee. All those who had a long stride of run-up.
And among the current crop, there are Mitchell Starc, Jofra Archer, Kagiso Rabada, and our very own Jasprit Bumrah.
These bowlers set themselves apart from others by making the hard release of the ball to the pitch.
On the contrary to other fast bowlers, the bloke from Gujarat called Jasprit Jasbirsingh Bumrah executes the most demanding job with an 8-steps run-up and an unorthodox bowling action.
Right from the beginning of his career, he has stunned a bigger bunch of batsmen with the astonishing speed he produces with his unique bowling method.
But only speed and unorthodox action cannot lead a bowler on top of the world, right! So it is a must for a bowler to have or learn the skills beyond the standard to move on with his international career.
The Gujarat pace bowler learned and excelled in every sub-departments of bowling necessary to please the demand of the game.
So, What makes Bumrah special?
Let’s look into the unique factors Bumrah that’s been lifting Bumrah in the competitive cricket world.
The crafted inswingers
Bumrah, with his high arm release and the use of wide crease, has been a natural manufacturer of inswingers.
Consequently, the MI seamer went on to become a deadly customer for the right-handed batters with his inswingers targeting the stumps at the speed clicking above 140 kmph.
Besides the angled inswingers, Bumrah’s improvised seam presentation started giving the ball those precious dips in the midst of the pitch.
Jasprit’s vicious inswinger to dismiss Pat Cummins in the first Test in Australia Tour 2018/19 is a great example to know Bumrah’s evolved skill in swinging.
The invented outswingers
So what about the outswingers that have to be produced against the nature of his action?
The cricketing experts started pinpointing his lack of outswinging ability at a certain point, where Bumrah was growing as a promising bowler.
The time came when Bumrah realized that the two-way swinging option is a must to sport the white jersey.
The smart bowler of India invented his own type of outswingers by bowling the leg cutters without twisting the wrist and without any drop in speed.
As this method got to execute, again and again, it turned out to be a bit of wrist and seam work involved in it.
The seam hits the pitch, reacts to the wrist work of Bumrah, and comes out as surprising outswingers.
Speaking of Bumrah’s outswingers, the wicket of Keaton Jennings in the 4th test of England tour 2018 shows us how Bumrah carried out the perfect outswinger(which is an inswinger for the left-hander).
“Keaton Jennings was leaving the ball continuously. As soon as the ball was near the middle or off stump, he knew that the ball would go away with my angle( from over the wicket). I thought he’s listened to the commentary, and that he will leave anything outside off-stump. I thought I’ll show him that I am still trying to do the same thing and then bowl the inswinger. I was sure he wouldn’t be expecting, just that I have to be on the right length. He didn’t even know… He left the ball and was plumb in front.” said Jasprit Bumrah on his famous inswinger to Jennings.
The daunting toe crushers
One could say Jasprit Bumrah has reinvented the art of toe crushing.
The death over specialist made use of his lethal yorkers to restrict the batsmen, which in turn fetched him many wickets in shorter formats.
Bumrah’s yorker became a troubleshooter for both the right and left-handers as it has got the perfection in accuracy and pace.
Even Lasith Malinga, who was known for his yorkers, hasn’t got this consistency, and it has backfired him a lot of time by bowling full tosses and over-pitched deliveries. However, Bumrah has developed an untouched skill of consistency in producing yorkers.
The Gujarati born pacer has taken his yorkering skill to a place where no batsmen would love to face it at any point in an innings.
The unorthodox bowling action, the speed of the ball, and accuracy have made the yorker the greatest weapon of Bumrah, which doesn’t give batsmen time to react.
“Jasprit Bumrah has the best and the most effective yorker among fast bowlers playing international cricket now. But what makes Bumrah special is his ability to bowl yorkers regularly. Also, yorker is not just used for ODIs but for Test matches too as Waqar, and I did in our times,” Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, said on the Indian pacer’s yorker.
Hit the helmet deliveries
With the seam movement involved, Bumrah’s bouncers have become a death-dealing one for the batsmen.
Imagine how it would be for a batsman to face a steaming bouncer from Bumrah when he was expecting a yorker?
Bumrah is hugely unpredictable. He gives you not what you’re expecting from him.
The speed of Bumrah will give no time for the batsmen to understand what to do. The best part is Bumrah clearly knows when to use this bouncer, and his accuracy in executing it is the key to his success.
The way Marcus Harris got bamboozled on Bumrah’s lethal bouncer can reveal the deadly flavors involved in it.
“Bumrah is good with both the new and old ball. He has a very good bouncer, which can surprise the opposition. He is very accurate and knows where he is bowling.” says Kapil Dev on Bumrah’s bouncer.
The inscrutable slowers
Jasprit Bumrah is more of a mind cricketer.
Indeed, the fast bowler knows what comes naturally and what he has to do to improvise in what he lacks.
The slower balls came into the act when Bumrah needed much more options in T20 formats. Addedly, the shrewdness of Bumrah let him use it wisely in other formats too.
With Bumrah’s action, the last thing a batsman wants from him is the slower ball. The batsman will need a spontaneous reflex to tackle the slower one successfully.
Bumrah’s last two overs against England (2nd T20 match, Nagpur, 2017) show us how clueless Bumrah’s slowers can be.
The miraculous slower one he pulled off to remove Shaun Marsh’s wicket in Australia (Boxing day test, 2018/19) reveals how a batsman could suffer from an unexpected slower.
“Even with his action, he bowls yorkers really well. And the key to possessing a potent slower delivery in case of Bumrah is his action. His hands go on all directions and suddenly, you will find it really hard to pick up the slower ones.” said Jofra Archer on Bumrah’s slower deliveries.
Conclusion
“I always like to have new things up my sleeve.If you’ve got only two or three tricks, then you’re stuck. Some days you go in with a fixed agenda; you think, in the end, I’m just going to bowl yorkers and slower balls. But on that day, if your yorkers are out of place—and your opponents know you will bowl slower balls and are waiting for it—then you need a good bouncer, right? If you’ve got a very good length ball. Or a wide yorker, a wide slower ball…oh! I’ve got so many options!”
Too many options with a different kind of action.
The execution part could be the best take from Jasprit Bumrah.
He has got both the mind and a well-prepared body to exhibit the skillset.
Honestly, Bumrah has opened up a gateway for unorthodox young bowlers, and as a result of his success, he has set up a higher quality in demand for the youngsters.
