Jasprit Bumrah: the stable force in a team undergoing change

Brisbane: It goes without saying that Jasprit Bumrah is a world-class bowler. The crowd's reaction and the way Aussie batters face him clearly indicate the challenge he poses with every delivery. Whether it's a well-thought set-up, a problem-solving ball, or an outright outrageous delivery, Bumrah consistently proves his skill on the field.

But here’s the thing — at the same time, the Aussies also know that if they can get through Bumrah, or somehow play out his over, there are runs on offer. As things stand, India are pretty much a one-man bowling attack.

Bumrah has taken 18 wickets in the series so far. The other Indian bowlers combined have taken 22. To understand why this is not helping India, look at Australia’s numbers — the pacers are sharing the workload. Mitchell Starc has 13, Pat Cummins has 11, Josh Hazlewood has 6 and Scott Boland has 5.

This means that while the pressure is always on India’s batters, it isn’t quite the case for Australia. And, it would perhaps be okay if Bumrah was desperate to have some of his team-mates stand up and be counted. But for the moment, the India vice-captain is being very understanding.

“We don’t as a team point fingers at each other and we don’t want to get into that mindset where we are pointing fingers at each other,” said Bumrah after taking six wickets in Australia’s first innings in the Brisbane Test. “We, as a team, are going through a transition, a lot of new players are coming here and Australia is not the easiest place to play cricket. Over here, it’s a different atmosphere with this wicket being a different challenge.

“So, it’s my job to help the others. I have played a little more than them. But again, everyone will learn through it, will get better and eventually find different ways. So, this is the journey that you’ll have to go through. Nobody is born with all the experiences. Nobody is born with all the skills. You keep learning, you keep finding new ways, you keep learning about your own game. And I am sure that you will get better answers.”

While that may be true of Harshit Rana or Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj was expected to do better. He has been Down Under before and if he could support Bumrah a bit more on the wickets front, India would have been able to exert more sustained pressure on Australia.

“In this game, I will give him credit that he had a little bit of a niggle but he still kept on bowling and still helped the team because he knew if he goes inside and he doesn’t bowl, then you know that the team will go under pressure,” said Bumrah. “So, I think he has got a great attitude and he has got a fighter spirit that the team loves, and I personally love that as well. So, that is the biggest positive for any cricketer; he is still fighting for the team.”

But while Bumrah is standing up for his team-mates, there is perhaps a thought that the weight of expectations might prove to be too much to bear. At the moment, though, he is excited by the challenge in front of him.

“It has been good so far,” said Bumrah. “I always find different challenges very interesting, the Test that we played in Perth saw a different wicket, Adelaide (with the) pink ball was different, the wicket behaved differently, the ball behaved differently and here, it is a little different because the wicket is at a (higher) level and the run-up is low. We are used to state level grounds. So, it is an interesting challenge. I always look forward to all of that and I always look to find answers.”

Against Australia, his numbers have always been superb. In 10 matches, he now has 50 wickets at an average of 17.82. His expectations are from himself.

“All players are expected to do well,” said Bumrah. “I cannot take extra baggage. When I was a youngster, yes, maybe I used to take extra baggage of fans and opinions but I don’t take any opinions seriously. I don’t really get very happy with people singing praises and having a lot of expectations or baggage on me. I look at myself. I look at answers for what I have to do.”