DHARAMSHALA: Usually on match eves,
Jasprit Bumrah prefers to go through the paces. More often than not, he is one of the seniors in the team who chooses to skip these optional sessions. On Saturday evening, though, he turned up at the HPCA stadium, set up his own practice nets on the centre square and went through a rigorous session of bowling, focusing much on getting the yorker right.
He didn’t bowl to any of the batters. It was just Bumrah, a camera stationed right next to where an umpire would be standing, a pair of boots and cones on either side of the crease at the other end, stumps and bowling coach Morne Morkel. For a good 45 minutes, he went full throttle. It was a solo act—one which will be a masterclass in perfecting yorkers. These drills are usually carried out when one starts out bowling yorkers. In essence, he has gone back to the drawing board.
Right from the time he burst on to the scene, Bumrah and toe-crushing yorkers became synonymous. Over a period of time, he has mastered the all-round art of fast bowling so well that he has always been in control of proceedings. Hence, unnerving Bumrah is one of the toughest jobs for opposing teams. Yet, he has managed to identify what has been lacking in bowling.
In the second T20I against South Africa in New Chandigarh, Bumrah failed to execute his yorkers. Interestingly, since he resumed his T20I duties in the Asia Cup in Sept after a gap of 14 months, he hasn’t looked incisive enough. In 12 preceding matches, his economy rate has been under control. He conceded over 11 runs per over twice and only once his economy rate has gone beyond seven. What would be a tad disconcerting is the fact that he has managed to take just 12 overs
It also could be that the opponents have decided to play Bumrah out more cautiously, preserving wickets to target the other bowlers. “I think on a night when he’s off, you've got to take what you can get because I don't know when you're going to get it again. We don’t plan too much around the matchups. Whatever it allows us on the night. If the batters are in, we obviously want to take on the aggressive options,” South Africa coach Shukri Conrad replied to a query on how they prepare for Bumrah.
“I’m sure he’ll be back to his best again tomorrow night or maybe later in the series we hope. You have to factor in the conditions. Maybe the ball was a little bit wet side,” he added, choosing his words very carefully, probably not wanting to poke the bear.
Bumrah, by his own lofty standards, would know he hasn’t been able to make an impact as consistently as he was used to. Conditions or not, the assault carried out on him by the South African batters two days ago must have stirred him up.
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