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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Pakistanis find Bumrah too hot to handle

By Khalid Hussain
September 24, 2018

DUBAI: Back when the two Ws were still at their peak, Pakistan were the kings when it came to bowling in the death overs.That status seems to have now gone to India. And they have one man to thank for it – Jasprit Bumrah.

The pacer with an awkward action is currently one of the best bowlers in the world. And once again on Sunday night here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium he underlined that status by squeezing the life out of the Pakistani innings in an important Super Fours game of the Asia Cup.

Bumrah’s figures of 2-29 were hardly stunning but the way be bowled at the start and especially in the death overs meant that Pakistan were unable to even get to the 250-run mark, something which they should have done quite comfortably. But with Bumrah bowling four overs at the death and finishing with figures of 4-0-15-2, Pakistan could just manage 237-7 – a total that didn’t seem big enough for a power-packed Indian batting line-up spear-headed by their in-form captain Rohit Sharma.

So what makes Bumrah so difficult to face? What makes him almost as unplayable as Waseem Akram and Waqar Younis, when the two Pakistani legends were in their prime.“It’s certainly his length,” Waqar Younis told ‘The News’ during the innings break of the Pakistan-India match. “He bowls with this awkward action and has this ability to bowl good Yorkers,” he added.

Waqar, who was once famous for his toe-crushing Yorkers, believes Pakistani batsmen will quickly need to learn how to tackle Bumrah.“Yes he has an awkward action and yes his length is perfect. But we need to know how to tackle him. Our batsmen need to move in the crease because you can’t handle him by staying where you are,” he said.

Aamir Sohail, the former Pakistan captain, told ‘The News’ that it’s apparent the Pakistanis didn’t do their homework. “We knew coming into this tournament that Bumrah is India’s best bowler. But we didn’t do our homework,” he said. “We are trying to hit him for sixes in the last overs when you should know that it’s too risky.”

Bazid Khan, the former Pakistan cricketer, believes Bumran becomes difficult to read because he is pretty deceptive. “He could be faster than he looks and his length is his greatest asset.”Bazid is of the view that Bumrah extracts all his power from his shoulders which makes him a difficult bowler to face. “That’s his strength but it could also be his downfall,” he said stressing that since the fast bowler is putting too much burden on his shoulders he could face fitness problems soon. “You can’t continue putting so much burden on one part of your body,” he said.