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Jasprit Bumrah thrives in simplicity, stability
Wired to the game but not invested too much in its emotions, Bumrah keeps bowling like only he can.
Cricket’s latest fad is “Bazball”, a term new England head coach Brendon McCullum apparently dislikes though it is coined after his nickname "Baz" and denotes his push for all-out aggression by the batters. It’s more a state of mind, about responding on the go without delving too much into its long-term repercussions. As claimed by Test skipper Ben Stokes, it’s about changing the face of cricket.
And evidently, everyone is eager to buy into that theory. How about sticking to the process though—biding time before attacking or focusing on the channel of uncertainty instead of bowling the wide yorker? Improvising is perceptively easier in batting thanks to the lopsided laws of the game but with a career-best ODI haul of 6/19 against the best white-ball batting line-up, Jasprit Bumrah again showed there is no need to deviate from the beaten path if you are good at it.
It’s all the more interesting because only last week Bumrah, with Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, failed spectacularly to defend 377 in the fourth innings of a Test at Edgbaston. The lengths were similar, the lines were exacting and there wasn’t much difference in pace too. You could probably argue that the white Kookaburra ball has swung more than the Dukes red ball this English summer, but the margins of error are so fine in this game that not every event can be reasoned technically.
Rub of the green matters, as well as a host of other factors like “keeping it simple”, “living in the present” and “shutting out the noise” before you start analysing if the bowler has done anything different. Bumrah doesn’t. Which is why he is so attuned to the vagaries of this game.
"This is the beauty of cricket, isn't it?" Bumrah said after India’s 10-wicket thumping of England in the first ODI at the Oval on Tuesday. "One day you will see everything is going in your favour. Another day you can try whatever you want, but it doesn't work for you. That is exactly why you need to keep a stable head.
"Every day is a new day. There will be days when you will get the edge first ball, there will be days you will bowl similarly all day but not get a single edge. You don't want to get desperate in these scenarios. That is why I rate stability a lot. Because at the end of the day, there is very little you can control. Once a bowler has let the ball go, there is nothing in his control.”
Fortunately, Bumrah was in a happy alliance with the white Kookaburra that was doing considerably more to peg batters on their backfoot. In an aggressive five-over opening spell that yielded four wickets for nine runs, Bumrah stuck to the same lengths that didn’t work for him in the Test. Acknowledging the smallest factors, Bumrah takes everything in his stride and accepts what is in store for him. "Sometimes you will bowl well, get the edge, but the catch will be dropped. Sometimes the ball will pass over the stumps. Sometimes a full toss will get you a wicket. That doesn't mean you bowl more full tosses. So, I only try to prepare what I can and not think of what is not in my hand."
The nature of the game is such that too much attachment can be detrimental at times. By being pragmatic and philosophical, Bumrah acknowledges it the best way he can. "I don't look at end results and judge my bowling. There have been instances when I have bowled so much better than this and not got wickets. I have always looked at following the same routine. Yes, today was a day where the white ball swung and there was some seam movement. So yeah, I wanted to exploit that.
"Today was a good day. It will bring a lot of praise. But neither do I get too happy with praise nor do I get too down with criticism. I don't look at it this way. I am here, I am very good in all formats. I enjoy every format. I try to do what I can. I respect what people say but I don't take everything seriously. Very grateful for the applause you get but I always try to keep a stable head. That's how I will always be."
