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'Surprised by this kind of comeback': Ex-MI star on Jasprit Bumrah's return, changes in run-up post injury
Jasprit Bumrah has made a pretty succesfull comeback to international cricket.
Jasprit Bumrah's return was arguably the single biggest talking point going into India's ongoing T20I series against Ireland. Bumrah, who is captain of the team for the series, had last played a top level cricket match only in September before the first T20I, after which he missed a number of big series and tournaments due to a back injury.
The injury sidelined him for a year but Bumrah didn't take long to get among the wickets upon return. While the first ball he bowled in the first match went for four, he got a wicket off the second and then the second last ball of that over. Bumrah had said before the series that his training before the series in India had all been oriented towards bowling 10 overs in an ODI match for the World Cup later this year.
Former batter Abhishek Nayar, who has worked with Bumrah at various points as part of the Mumbai Indians setup, admitted that he was pleasantly surprised by the kind of comeback that the pacer has made. “I have been surprised with how well he has come back post his surgery. He has been on point in terms of his execution and even his captaincy. I have been very impressed and I am very happy that he has come back the way he has,” Nayar, who is an expert with JioCinema for the T20I series in Ireland, told reporters on Tuesday.
Changes in action
Nayar said that Bumrah seems to have made slight changes to his run-up. He mentioned that former wicketkeeper Kiran More, who is a fellow expert for JioCinema for the series, had pointed that Bumrah had made changes to the unique walking strides he takes before sprinting in his run-up.
“First of all, he has been terrific in these two matches. Through the Ireland series it is pretty clear now that Bumrah is fit and raring to go. In terms of the small changes, we felt that he has sort of lengthened his run up. He is running in a lot harder than he used to. He is very unique in the way he walks before starting his run up. That is a small change that Kiran More pointed out. I am not certain whether or not he has actually made it.”
Nayar said that Bumrah seems to be more oriented towards ending his action more completely and his follow through. “But he does seem to be running in a lot harder and his follow through has increased drastically which is predicament to the fact that he is running a lot harder and finishing really well. That is the change we have seen. Bumrah has been terrific and it is great news for India and Indian fans that he is firing in all cylinders and also doing that with all the variations,” he said.
