Irfan Pathan, former India all-rounder, talked about Team India’s dependence on pacer Jasprit Bumrah after the Shubman Gill-led Indian side lost to England in the third and final ODI of the series at Lord’s on July 19 and also lost the series 2-1.
Jasprit Bumrah was not part of the Indian XI for the Lord’s ODI, as he suffered a knee injury during the second match, and his absence proved to be fatal for India as the likes of Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna struggled.
England posted a massive 387/3 in 50 overs thanks to 141 by Ben Duckett, 91 by Jacob Bethell, and 74* by Joe Root. In response, Shubman Gill made 77 and Virat Kohli made 74, while Rohit Sharma led the chase with 138 runs, but India still fell short by 27 runs, scoring 360/7 in 50 overs.
Irfan asserted that the visitors would have to learn to play and win games without Bumrah going forward.
"India has lost another series. I feel the most important factor and biggest issue was the bowling at the death. If we had done better there, this game could have been something else. We have to learn to win without Bumrah. We need to learn to bowl without him, especially in the death overs. It is important for our bowlers to plan better," Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
As the leader of the pace attack, Pathan also emphasized Bumrah's significance in terms of his ability to read the pitch well and provide knowledge to the other bowlers. Irfan advised the selectors to have strong backup plans that would be useful in an emergency.
"Bumrah is important because he gauges the right length in the very first over and communicates to the other bowlers, and they also follow him. That is why we also need to get used to playing without him. The way he got a niggle and sat out, this will happen in other games also to manage things. This is why it is also the responsibility of the selectors to have backups ready so that if he is injured, those who can bowl well at the death can play,” Pathan added.
Pathan also highlighted that the Indian team cannot afford to play only five bowlers and needs a sixth bowling option. In the third ODI, India opted for four pacers, and Axar Patel was the lone spinner.
Although there was much discussion about not playing wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, Irfan believed that, considering the pitch, it was the appropriate decision. But he criticized the inefficiency of the bowling unit.
"We said that we want five bowlers and five attacking bowlers. Yes, the talk of Kuldeep will come. But Adil Rashid also did not get much help from this surface despite doing everything. So, the management thought of not playing a wrist-spinner and going with an extra fast bowler, and given the pitch, the thought process was right. But we did not find the right lengths as a fast-bowling unit," he said.
Pathan also stated that the big difference between England and India was that England had the sixth bowling option, while India had no one to fall back on when more than one of their premier bowlers went for runs.
"We also had five bowlers; England also had five. We also batted till seven, and they also did the same. But the main difference was that we had just five bowlers. Five pure bowlers. We did not have a sixth option. No one in our top five bowls. Indian cricket has to do better here. Our batters need to bowl. England gets the variety in bowling without compromising the batting as Sam Curran and Will Jacks bat and bowl. We don't have one batter who can bowl well; We will have to find someone like this. The selectors will have to find someone,” Pathan concluded.
