Indian cricket has many reasons to thank John Wright, their first high-profile foreign coach. He injected a sense of professionalism in the setup but did it all without being overbearing. He cajoled and convinced them to embrace modern ways of training and preparing for an assignment. Yet, one of his biggest contributions to Indian cricket came eight years after he resigned as the national team’s coach in 2005.The Kiwi may not have understood the true potential of Jasprit Bumrah when the former New Zealand skipper spotted the Gujarat bowler in a Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 match while scouting talent to recruit for Mumbai Indians in 2013. Wright thought Bumrah’s unique action, which barely conformed with a typical fast-bowling manual, would be ideal for the T20 format. And it was. Bumrah, in fact, was fast-tracked into the national team’s white-ball setup by 2016 in Australia.The now 30-year-old made an instant impact under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, but with his body-twisting action, which appeared to put huge pressure on his back, not many believed he would last the rigor of Test cricket. However, the then Test team management of skipper Virat Kohli, head coach Ravi Shastri, and bowling coach Bharat Arun saw a potentially great red-ball bowler in Bumrah.They worked on his fitness, strengthened the parts that needed to sustain the stress triggered from his complicated action, and unleashed him on the tour of South Africa in 2018. Since then, Bumrah has been the most potent force in India’s pace attack, winning matches both in India and abroad. His impact has been particularly impressive since his return to action late last year following back surgery. The quick gave another demonstration of his evolution as one of the finest fast bowlers in the world in the first Test against Australia here.His eight-wicket haul for the match not only got India back in the game from the brink but also powered them to one of their sweetest wins away from home.The pacer was lethal with the new ball, generating disconcerting speeds and movement off the track. And he was equally effective with the old ball, maintaining accuracy and playing the waiting game.This is his third stint Down Under for a Test series since his first tour in 2018–19, and his record here proves his liking for the conditions. In eight Tests, he has 40 wickets at an average of 18.80 and a strike rate of 45.7—the most number of wickets outside of India (47 in 12 Tests).“I would never mind a wicket having bounce and seam because I love watching fast bowlers bowl, and I love to bowl on such wickets as well because when you come to India, the wicket is a lot different,” he noted after India’s 295-run win in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener.“Over here, it’s a different challenge with the Kookaburra ball. You get seam movement, you get bounce, and different kinds of aspects that come into your play. Everything is tested, and when the ball settles down, the ball gets a little older, it becomes easier to bat on. So then the challenge comes of your accuracy and the patience that you have,” he elaborated.Gambhir flies back homeIndia head coach Gautam Gambhir has flown back home with his family due to a "personal emergency" and is not likely to rejoin the squad before the second Test against Australia beginning December 6 in Adelaide, reports DHNS.Gambhir will skip India’s two-day pink-ball warm-up game against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra starting November 30.The Indian team will leave for Canberra on Wednesday, where it is expected to attend an official reception by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
