Focused Bumrah warms up to international action

Ind vs SL: India are scheduled to play three T20Is against Sri Lanka and they will look to continue their good run against their Asian rivals in the shortest format.

The flexible stump on the right in the yellow set arched back on the impact of the white cricket ball before returning to position. Jasprit Bumrah had knocked it with his first delivery on the practice pitch adjacent to the main strip at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium here.

India's Jasprit Bumrah runs to warm up during a training session.(AP)

For the next 47 minutes—from 6:14pm to 7:01 pm—till he wrapped the blue windcheater around him, Bumrah was at work taking turns to bowl with Shardul Thakur and Shivam Dube. India bowling coach B Arun supervised the session and was joined first by fielding coach R Sridhar and then by Ravi Shastri, the head coach.

Prior to bowling, Bumrah jogged around the park once with Sanju Samson. After warm-up drills—Friday was four months and a day since he last played for India before being forced off by a back injury—Bumrah participated in catching practice with players who had fetched up for the evening’s two-hour optional training session. He left with the rest—Shikhar Dhawan, Kuldeep Yadav were among those who were not present—some of them taking to the batting nets outside the main stadium under a security blanket that had a heavy presence of Rapid Action Force personnel.

Bumrah returned to the stadium and used a tape to mark his run-up. Broken into three parts, the run-up had a brisk 10-step walk followed by a trot and finally a gallop to the wicket. Holding the ball, his left hand would jut out first followed by the right covering it. Then the familiar sight of Bumrah gathering pace, arms locked in front would unfold before they would rise like that of a clock approaching three.

Loading up, the first delivery was on good length which hit the top of the stumps. A marker was kept on the blockhole but Bumrah started by trying to get the ball to rise at pace. He also worked on what Australia batsman Glenn Maxwell described as the ‘low sort of bouncer’. Settling into rhythm, the steps increased in the walk and Bumrah hit the blockhole marker once. He got another ball to skid into the stumps.

Fifteen minutes into his drill, Bumrah left the wicket set upturned. He did that with two successive deliveries, the second with a yorker. Before bowling at one stump 30 minutes into the session, Bumrah also practiced slow yorkers. After almost every delivery, Bumrah spoke to Arun.

Whether Bumrah returns in the India blue here will be known in the next two days. But if first impressions in the new year are anything to go by, Bumrah—who last year in the Caribbean had legendary pace purveyors Andy Roberts and Curtly Ambrose gushing in praise—is feeling groovy. This despite bypassing the conventional approach of getting game time in domestic cricket following an injury to ready for the international game.