Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah ended the Test series against South Africa with 12 wickets from two Test matches at an average of 12.92. He took a four-wicket haul and a fifer in the series.
The Test series against South Africa was Bumrah’s comeback into international cricket after the ODI World Cup. He was rested from the T20I series against Australia and the white-ball series against the Proteas.
He made a grand comeback taking 12 wickets and displaying superlative quality in his fast bowling. He did not sacrifice his pace with a shortened run-up and made it difficult for the batters to face him. He also got the ball to move both ways predominantly.
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Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan while speaking to Star Sports lauded the Indian pacer for making a terrific comeback after a back injury that made him miss many international games for India.
“I have fallen in love with Jasprit Bumrah’s attitude, especially the way he has bowled after back surgery. He is not only an inspiration for Indian cricket but also for world cricket” Pathan said on Bumrah.
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He also lauded the Indian pacer for sticking to playing Test cricket despite his recent history with injuries and back problems.
“If you are prioritizing red-ball cricket even after surgery, you won’t get a bigger brand ambassador than him in bowling. If every country gets a bowler like Jasprit Bumrah, Test cricket will keep flourishing” Pathan further added.
Bumrah ended the series as the player of the series for picking up 12 wickets, the most by any bowler in the Test series. Sunil Gavaskar who was part of that discussion with Star Sports lauded the pacer for his willingness to learn and improve on his bowling regularly.
“I don’t know Bumrah as a person but as a cricketer, he wants to make himself a better cricketer every day. It’s difficult to bowl outswing with his action but the way he is bowling outswing now, how much effort he would have put in. He has the slower bouncer as well” Gavaskar said on Bumrah.
Jasprit Bumrah ended with 20 wickets in the ICC World Cup 2023 the second most for India after Mohammed Shami’s 23 scalps for India. Siraj also ended with 14 wickets and together the Indian pace trio took more than 50 World Cup wickets.
Cape Town To Hold A Special Place In My Heart: Jasprit Bumrah
Bumrah in the post-match presentation recalled the tour of 2018 to South Africa when he made his Test debut in South Africa. It was in Cape Town that he made his Test debut, picking up four wickets in his debut Test.
“This ground will always hold a special place in my heart. It was always a dream to play Test cricket and the journey started here, there’s always fond memories of my first game. Very happy that it went well today as well. That journey started in 2018 – our bowling unit was experienced and we wanted to create an impact. We knew that if we want to do well in foreign conditions, we’ll have to bowl a lot more and consistently” said Bumrah.
