Former India coach Ravi Shastri recalled ringing ace seamer Jasprit Bumrah early during his international career to talk about him making his Test debut. Even before Bumrah got introduced to red-ball cricket, the fans worldwide labelled him as a ‘white-ball specialist’ for what he brought to the table with his Yorkers in the shortest format.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!With that said, Shastri claims he believed in Bumrah’s ability to break into the Test side and wreak havoc in this format for years to come, which, to not everyone’s surprise considering his x-factor, Bumrah did.
After the speedster had made early inroads as the emerging white-ball star, the right-handed pacer made his Test debut against South Africa in 2018, only to break the narrative among his fans around his format preference. In those three matches, Bumrah returned with 14 wickets at 25.21.
“I remember my first call to him, it was in Kolkata,” Shastri said during his recent chat with ‘The Times’.
“I asked him would he be interested in Test cricket. He said that would be the biggest day of his life.
ALSO READ | Building trust and confidence is paramount: Rohit Sharma on his success mantra as captain
“He was labelled as a white-ball cricketer without asking him. But I knew. I wanted to see how hungry he was. I told him to get ready, be prepared. I told him I was going to unleash him in South Africa,” Shastri said.
Backing Bumrah to further cement his legacy as one of Test cricket’s greatest players, Shastri noted, “They will always remember your numbers in Test cricket.”
Bumrah on top after Vizag heroics
Jasprit Bumrah is now the number one Test bowler in the world following his latest exploits during the ongoing Test series against England. After India went down in the first Test in Hyderabad despite winning most sessions, at least until day three, they needed a superhuman effort from someone to puncture England’s Bazball approach and make a comeback. Bumrah was that player in the next Test in Vizag.
Following Yashasvi Jaiswal’s maiden Test double ton, it was Bumrah’s turn to make headlines, and he did it by picking a six-wicket haul. His delivery to dismiss Ollie Pope made headlines all over.
Even in the second innings, Bumrah returned with three wickets, picking nine in total, helping India win the game by 106 runs.
You can now write for Baazigarnews.com and be a part of the Baazigar family. Share your stories and opinions with us here.