How the ‘problem-solver’ Jasprit Bumrah thought out Babar Azam and took out Rizwan
India’s Jasprit Bumrah celebrates the dismissal of Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Westbury, New York, Sunday, June 9, 2024. (AP/PTI)
Five years ago while watching Jasprit Bumrah wreak havoc in the Caribbean, the West Indian pace legend Curtly Ambrose was moved enough to purr on the most admirable facet of the Indian’s craft. “The way he out-thinks the batsmen, outclasses them,” before adding, “he could have been one of us, he’s so complete a bowler that he could have played in any era.”
Five years later, after thrusting the knife into the Pakistanis and turning a T20 World game in a New York minute, Bumrah would echo that singular bowling character trait of his: “I try to solve the problem that is there in front of me. I know its cliched answer but I was trying to focus on what is the best options over here on a wicket like this … I am not looking at whether I am bowling at the best of my ability.” (Read more from Sriram Veera)