5 reasons why Jasprit Bumrah should be considered for India's 2018 away tours
Jasprit Bumrah has developed into a world-class bowler in the shorter formats of the game. His mastery of bowling in the death overs has been lauded by many experts. His hyper-extended shoulders keep his arm and elbow straight, giving him the advantages of both a high-arm and springy release.
Though his unusual bowling action plays a vital role in his success, his USP is his accuracy in bowling yorkers and slower-ones. Despite being an instant success in ODIs and T20s, he is yet to be considered for five-day games. However, the time has come for India to test his skills in the longer format.
India are scheduled to play South Africa, England, and Australia away from home in 2018 and they definitely need a pool of fast bowlers to be successful in those testing conditions. Even cricketing greats like Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath have spoken in favour of considering the Indian pace-man for Test cricket. This article covers five key reasons why Bumrah should be considered to play for India in the longer format of the game:
#1 Bumrah's fantastic First Class record
If you have the unyielding opinion that Bumrah is just a limited-overs player, then you are probably not paying much attention to India's domestic circuit. Gujarat are the current Ranji Trophy champions and the fast bowler played a key role in their success. His five-for against Odisha in the quarter-finals and a six-for against Jharkhand in the semi-finals paved the way for their maiden victorious campaign.
He has played 26 first-class games with an impressive tally of 89 wickets. His average of 25.33 with a strike-rate of 56.3 on placid Indian wickets is an extraordinary feat for a fast bowler. His red ball record is far better than his compatriots Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami.
It is unfair to deny Bumrah a chance in Test cricket by stating that he is a limited-overs specialist.