Peculiar issue of Bumrah’s availability

London: In a Manchester Test match for the ages where several records were rewritten and defining milestones achieved, the imperious Jasprit Bumrah looked a bit underwhelming that would have rankled him for sure. For the first time in his hallowed 48-Test career, the pacer went for over 100 runs in an innings that ended up having a detrimental impact on the rest of his bowling colleagues who simply withered amidst an England assault.

Yes, it was another flat pitch doled out at Old Trafford and England batters got the best of the conditions. The hosts came to bat on the second day when the sun was out in full glory and the pitch had eased up with much of the early juice drained out and there weren’t many demons until the final evening. Even England bowlers too felt the difficulty of making something happen as they struggled to prise open the Indians with the trio of Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja scoring centuries on the final day to help the visitors achieve a famous draw against all odds.

However, scratch the surface and the 31-year-old Bumrah, who has been battling serious injuries over the last few years and was apparently advised to play only three Tests in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, has struggled to make an impact with the new ball thrice in the five innings he has bowled.

In the opening Test at Headingley, after scalping Zak Crawley in his very first over, he bowled with genuine hostility but the English batters saw off his first spell without any further damage. He finished with 5/83 but the remaining four were because of his magic with the old ball — something which he’s a master at especially when it starts reversing like in sub-continental conditions. In the second innings, Bumrah went wicketless in 19 overs as England chased down 371 with consummate ease.

Honours Board

Bumrah skipped the second Test at Edgbaston but came roaring back at Lord’s, where he entered the famed Honours Board with 5/74 in the first innings. He wasn’t potent enough in the second innings, his two wickets being No. 8 Chris Woakes and No. 9 Brydon Carse. The new-ball bug continued to bite him at Old Trafford too, Bumrah managing to land his first strike only in the 125th over of the innings! By then, all the damage had been done.

Bumrah is the undisputed bowling king of the world, enjoying the superstar status that’s generally reserved for batters. He was revered as much as Virat Kohli during the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, where he was the leading wicket-taker with 32 scalps. Even in England, a veteran journalist who covered his 500th Test at Old Trafford, rated Bumrah as the “finest red-ball fast bowler that ever drew breath”. That’s some praise from someone who has seen the best of the best for nearly five decades. 

Like how batting in a team revolves around a star, the same is for bowling too. Whenever Bumrah plays, even his deputy Mohammed Siraj inexplicably gets sidelined into the sidekick role. A lot ends up being expected from Bumrah, and when he’s unable to deliver, it affects the performances of others. However, to be fair to Siraj, he has laid it all out on the pitch with his relentless bowling in all four Tests, his returns of 14 wickets — the same as Bumrah’s — not a true reflection of his effort and skill.

India are also staring at another problem - a lack of bowling depth. In Bumrah’s absence, Siraj has shown he can lead the attack impeccably. He’s there constantly advising the juniors on what to do, something that’s been missing from Bumrah largely this series. But what if Siraj also breaks down? The next in line for the series finale are Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, white-ball specialist Arshdeep Singh and newbie Anshul Kamboj. While Akash and Prasidh are good, they are still far away from leading the attack on their own. 

Worse stiil, the resources back home too are plunging. Mohammed Shami’s Test career appears all but over, while the other choices are Mukesh Kumar, Harshit Rana and Avesh Khan. Not encouraging enough. Bumrah, given his fragile body, has just a few years left in him, and India really need to create a strong core; else, they could be in trouble when they are on the road.