‘Ravi Shastri wanted me to call him up’: India bowling coach recalls how Jasprit Bumrah made it to Test team

India bowling coach Bharat Arun recalls how it was coach Ravi Shastri who wanted to pick Bumrah in the Test team for the Proteas tour in 2018.

Jasprit Bumrah’s road to India Test team was not an easy one. The right-arm fast bowler, who made a name for himself in the Indian Premier League while playing for Mumbai Indians, initially grew among the ranks as a lethal fast-bowling option in limited-overs cricket. Bumrah’s unique action made him a threat for any batting line-up. But despite making a debut in the ODIs and T20Is for India in January 2016, Bumrah had to wait two years to play his first Test. In 2018, January, Bumrah made his debut in the longest format for India against South Africa, and immediately made a mark on the format.

Jasprit Bumrah celebrates with the team. File photo. (AP)

India bowling coach Bharat Arun recalls how it was coach Ravi Shastri who wanted to pick Bumrah in the Test team for the Proteas tour in 2018. Speaking to reporter Indranil Basu in a Facebook Live interview with Sportskeeda, Arun said: “It is very unfair to say that I am the one who picked Bumrah for Tests. In all fairness, it was Ravi Shastri who really wanted Bumrah.”

By the end of 2017, Bumrah had played 32 T20Is and 31 ODIs for India. There were doubts whether, with his unique action, the right-armer would be a useful asset in Test cricket. But before the South Africa tour, Shastri asked Bharat Arun to give him a call and inform him that he could be getting a chance in Test team in the South Africa tour.

“I think it was after a match in Kolkata, before the South Africa tour, Ravi Shastri felt that Bumrah would be extremely effective. He was really impressed with him. He wanted me to call him up and tell him that. It was about two months before South Africa tour. He wanted me to call up Bumrah and tell him that he was most likely to tour South Africa with the Test team,” Arun said.

“When I spoke to Bumrah, he said ‘it was his dream to play in Tests’. A lot of people had classified him as an ODI bowler - he in his heart of hearts knew he could be a very good Test match bowler. So he said ‘I would give anything to be a Test match bowler and I would work towards it’. Truthfully, it was Ravi Shastri’s idea and Bumrah was right up to the challenge,” the 57-year-old further added.

The decision from coach Shastri proved to be a right one, and Bumrah has become the leader of India’s strong pace-bowling line-up. In 14 Tests, the bowler has taken 68 wickets at an average of 20.33. Explaining the reasons behind’s Bumrah success, Arun said: “Bumrah in the last few strides he gives it everything he has. He looks pretty innocuous when he runs. But he doesn’t generate too much momentum in his run-up. That’s why he is so deceptive.”

“His arm being very, very quick... normally bowlers begin from slightly bent-arm, then going on to the fully outstretched arm, because that is the most ideal way to generate speed. Bumrah starts with the longer lever, it’s just very difficult to generate speed. But if you are able to do that, it would be very effective. But not all bowlers could do it. Bumrah has the unique capacity and ability to do that, and that’s why he is so successful,” he further said.