Jasprit Bumrah walked back into Test cricket at Headingley looking as sharp – and as central to India’s plans – as when a stress reaction in his surgically repaired back halted him in Australia. The lay-off sparked predictable questions: had India bowled their pace spearhead into the ground, and would another setback spell the end of his red-ball career?
Those outside worries wash over him. “I can’t control what people write,” he said after stumps. “Nor am I trying to teach people what to write and what not to write about me. Everybody is free to write what they want. I understand cricket is very popular in our country, and I understand that using my name in the headline boosts the viewership. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter to me. Because if I let it get into my head, I will start believing it. I need my beliefs and my ways to dictate how I go. Not the way others want me to play.”
That resolve is not new. Bumrah reminded listeners he has been hearing gloomy forecasts since day one. “I always wanted to play for India. I played for India on my belief. I have played every format on my belief. I have always heard ‘no’ from people. First they said ‘you won’t be able to play’; then they said ‘you will last only six months’; then they said ‘you will last only eight months’, and just like that I have spent ten years in international cricket listening to all this. I have played the IPL for 12-13 years.”
The scepticism has barely slowed. “Even now people keep saying this injury will be it. Keep waiting, I will not think about that. I will keep doing my work. Every three-four months there will be headlines but, let’s see, I will play till it is in my destiny. I prepare my best, and leave the rest to god. Whatever barkat [abundance or good fortune] god has given me, I try to carry it forward, and try to take Indian cricket forward.”
That last injury has, however, altered how he parcels out his energies. Bumrah told the team management before the tour that he will not play every Test in the series – part of the reason he stepped back from the stand-in captaincy that once looked likely. With his appearances capped at three matches, the temptation might be to chase wickets and headlines. Bumrah is having none of it.
“You don’t look at what is going to happen in the future,” he explained. “You are there in the ground at that moment. You have to do a job. So at that moment I’m trying to assess the wicket. I’m trying to assess what is happening, what are my options, how is the wicket behaving, who’s the batter there, what is he thinking, how do I outsmart him or what do I do? I look at all of those things at that moment. I was not thinking about what will happen or how many games I will play. At this moment, focusing on the Test match. When the match is over, think about all these permutations and combinations.”
Dropped catches, including two off his bowling, briefly threatened to cloud an otherwise commanding new-ball spell. Bumrah brushed that aside with customary calm: “Nobody is dropping catches on purpose.” Mistakes happen, and the senior quick prefers to spend his energy solving the batsman in front of him.
The 31-year-old’s ability to hit a hard length, shift pace and angle, and clutch old-ball reverse swing remains India’s greatest bowling asset. Former seamer Zaheer Khan noted on television that Bumrah’s run-up is “a touch shorter and a shade smoother” post-rehab – a tweak designed to take stress off the back without dulling pace. Early signs suggest the adjustment has stuck: the speed gun hovered in the high-80s mph, and the seam landed bolt upright more often than not.
Fitness, of course, stays the elephant in the room. Workload monitors inside the Indian dressing room have been ruthless since the back surgery; likewise the support staff will not hesitate to park him for a Test if the data flashes red. Yet Bumrah’s own filter for external noise is equally uncompromising.
“I ask myself this question at night, did I give my absolute best?” he said. “If the answer is yes, I quiet …”
