Ever since Jasprit Bumrah made his Test debut for the Indian cricket team last January against South Africa, not only has the fortunes of the side picked up, but the pacers in and around him have upped their game to surpass the spinners by a big margin as well.
Since January 5, 2018, the Indian side have played 14 Tests outside the subcontinent, winning 6 of them, drawing 1 and losing 7. All these wins have had Bumrah playing an instrumental role as he has managed 42 wickets in the 6 games that India have won with five 5-wicket hauls. Overall, the Indian bowlers have picked up 119 wickets in the 6 wins abroad in this duration.
While Bumrah has taken 35% of the wickets, Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma have contributed with 25 and 24 wickets, respectively outside Asia in wins. The fast bowlers have chipped in with 101 wickets of the 119 in wins, and while it was expected that on bouncy tracks, the new ball bowlers will have an impact, the level of success has been exciting for the Indian viewers, who have long waited for a pace attack that could match up to their rival’s.
The influence of Bumrah, however, in this improved showing, can in no way be ignored. With his pacey outswingers and inswingers, the bowler has not only caught the imagination of the Indian skipper Virat Kohli, but has also earned praise from the legends of the game. Becoming only the third Indian to register a hattrick in Test cricket when he achieved the feat in the recent series against Windies, Bumrah has long shed his tag of being a T20 specialist. Leading the bowling attack with aplomb currently, Bunrah recently became the only Asian bowler to grab five wicket hauls in South Africa, England, Australia and West Indies.
His form has inadvertently rubbed onto his mates Shami and Ishant as well, who have picked up 58 and 52 wickets respectively in all games since January last year. Bumrah, however, leads the pack once again with 62 scalps in 12 Tests overall. The series against Windies was not only defined by the domination of the Indian side, it also gave proof of how vital the seamers have become in the last few months.
The two-match series saw the fast bowlers picking up 33 wickets at an average of only 12.57 – which is the best Test performance by the Indian pacers in a Test series where at least two games were played. Bumrah, once again had a massive role to play in the win in the Caribbean Isle as he picked up 13 wickets across four innings, which catapulted him into third spot in the ICC rankings.
If Bumrah is not picking up wickets, he is stalling the run-flow with his nagging lengths, and it is certain that for India to fare well in the Test Championship, Bumrah will have a massive role to play.