Jasprit Bumrah is widely regarded as the best fast bowler in the world across formats. He has been bowling brilliantly ever since his comeback to international cricket following the back surgery.
The right-arm quick played an instrumental role in India’s Asia Cup 2023 triumph and then made the batters dance to his tunes in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup last year.
Bumrah carried on his brilliance to Test cricket on the tour of South Africa and in the home series against England. To top it all, he was declared Player-of-the-Tournament in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 victory after finishing the competition with 15 wickets at an economy rate of 4.50.
Bumrah is currently plying his trade in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under. He returned with eight wickets and was declared Player-of-the-Match in India’s historic 295-run victory over Australia in the first Test at Perth.
Despite his sustained brilliance, former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has expressed concerns over Jasprit Bumrah’s long-term prospects in the longest format, suggesting that the latter will need to find a touch of extra pace to remain competitive with the red ball.
“Very good fast bowler for shorter formats and one-dayers, because he understands the length. I think he does a great job in death overs, in powerplay and he can swing the ball both ways,” Shoaib said while speaking on The Nakash Khan Show podcast.
“But you know, in Test cricket, you have to bowl longer spells. You need pace because the batters aren’t trying to hit you. Length becomes irrelevant. You struggle if the ball doesn’t seam or reverse along with that lack of pace. When you start struggling, then people start questioning,” he added.
Bumrah currently has 185 wickets in 42 Test matches at a remarkable average of 20.01. While Akhtar acknowledged the Indian star’s quality as a fast bowler, he pointed out that his struggles with fitness could prevent him from establishing a long career in Test cricket.
“I think he is good enough to take wickets in Test cricket. Although he didn’t do much in the Test series against New Zealand, it happens,” said Akhtar. “But if he wants to continue playing Test cricket, he has to increase the pace. With the injection of increasing pace, he has a high risk of getting injured. If I was him, I would have stuck to shorter formats.”
“It only depends on how I feel. If I’m feeling good, okay, I’ll go out there, I’ll bend my back, make sure I take wickets for the team in Test matches. That is fine with me but he has to look after himself, because he wants to play the IPL, he wants to play ODIs, he wants to play Test matches as well,” he further remarked.
In the end, Shoaib Akhtar commented on Jasprit Bumrah’s stature within the sport, hailing him as a ‘great asset’.
“He’s a great asset for world cricket and we need to make sure we don’t destroy him, in terms of looking after him more,” concluded Akhtar.
