Why Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are as important as Virat Kohli in India's limited-overs setup
The India vs England limited overs series was a much-anticipated one for fans of both sides and why not. While England were riding high after having thrashed Australia 5-0, the Indian team had every reason to be confident, having never lost a bilateral series under Virat Kohli.
While India triumphed in the T20I series, England came out on top in the ODI series by winning the last two games, having being outplayed by the "Men in Blue" in the 1st ODI. The Indian bowling, especially the pace bowling department, looked completely out of sorts throughout, and dearly missed the services of two of their best bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
While Bumrah missed both the series owing to a thumb injury, Bhuvneshwar only played 3 of the 6 limited-overs games and never looked match fit. Their replacements, Umesh Yadav and Siddharth Kaul, struggled to impose themselves, and never looked sharp enough to trouble England's fiery batting lineup
Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah have become an integral part of the Indian team for quite some time now, and are Virat Kohli's go to men in high-pressure situations. The duo are a captain's delight, good at the start and brilliant at the death, and have delivered the goods for the team on a regular basis. India have always been guilty of leaking too many runs at the back end of the innings, but the belief seems to have changed after the emergence of Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah.
The two have economies of 5.01 and 4.65 in ODIs, which is commendable considering they bowl a majority of their overs in the powerplay or at the death. While players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav have earned a majority of the accolades for their performances in India's recent limited-overs successes, the two pacers have quietly been delivering the goods for the team.
Bumrah is ranked as the #1 ODI bowler in the world, a great achievement considering he's only 24, while Bhuvneshwar has become more than just the swing bowler he was at the beginning of his career, having upped his pace and added the slower ones and the yorker to his armory. Both were termed the best death bowlers in the world by Steve Smith after they produced a masterclass against Australia in the 3rd ODI in the 2017 series.
That the two weren't fit for arguably the most important limited overs series in a long time is a pity, but India need to make sure they're fit and firing come the World Cup in 2019. While a lot will depend on how the Indian batting performs in the English conditions, it is the bowling which has to click for Virat Kohli's men if they are to repeat the feats of 1983 and 2011. If India are to get the best out of Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah in the World Cup, it is imperative that they be looked after properly and their workloads managed. The duo are special and if they are at the peak of their powers, India will be the team to beat come the 2019 World Cup.