Jasprit Bumrah's return for the Lord's Test has reignited debate over his impact. While India have a better win percentage without him, his overseas brilliance, especially in SENA nations, proves he's essential despite the surprising win-loss stats.
Team India received a major boost in their pace attack with the return of Jasprit Bumrah in the playing XI for the ongoing third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Lord’s in London on Thursday, July 10.
Bumrah was rested for the Edgbaston Test to manage his workload, given his injury concerns in the past. The pace spearhead featured in India’s playing XI for the Headingley Test in Leeds, where he picked five wickets in the first innings before going wicketless in the second innings, which cost India a victory as the visitors lost by five wickets to England.
Despite the defeat in the Headingley Test and trailing 0-1 in the series, Team India management decided to rest Bumrah for the second Test at Edgbaston and picked Akash Deep in his place. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian bowling attack, led by Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, delivered a sensational performance to help India clinch a historic Test victory by a mammoth margin of 336 runs at Edgbaston, the venue that was not kinder to Team India for 58 years from 1967.
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Bumrah makes a return for a crucial Test
India have indeed gotten a massive boost in their pace bowling attack as Jasprit Bumrah made his return to the playing XI. The 31-year-old replaced Prasidh Krishna, who was quite moderate with his bowling in the first two Tests of the ongoing Test series.
Jasprit Bumrah has formed a pace bowling attack alongside Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj for the Lord’s Test. Bumrah’s return was met with high expectations as the England batters struggled to play him, thanks to his ability to deliver the ball at right line and length, and extract sharp movement off the Lord’s pitch.
Bumrah does not have a great record at Lord’s, taking 4 wickets at an average of 37.33in two innings. However, the 31-year-old has conceded only 111 runs and had nine maiden overs before the third Test at the venue, indicating his ability to build pressure with economical spells, though the wickets have not come in abundance.
However, Jasprit Bumrah has a great Test record against England on English soil, having picked 42 wickets, including 3 five-wicket hauls, at an average of 24.28 and an economy rate of 2.80 in 9 matches.
Did India perform well without Jasprit Bumrah in Tests?
Jasprit Bumrah made his Test debut for Team India against South Africa in 2018, and since then, the star pacer has featured in 46 Test matches. In those 46 matches in which Bumrah featured, including the Headingley Test in Leeds, Team India has won 22, lost 20, and drawn 4, giving them a winning percentage of 43%
Surprisingly, Team India has performed much better without the presence of Jasprit Bumrah in the team. Since his debut in January 2018, India have played 27 Tests without him, winning 19, losing only 5, and drawing 3 — a winning percentage of around 70%,
The staggering difference in India’s overall performance with and without Jasprit Bumrah has often had fans wondering about the star pacer’s impact on the team, despite his bowling brilliance often playing a role in India’s success in red-ball cricket.
Jasprit Bumrah has been India’s most reliable pacer ever since his debut in the longest format of the game. The 31-year-old has been quite consistent in delivering match-winning spells at home and overseas.
However, the numbers raise a fascinating debate about the team’s balance and India’s ability to adapt without their pace spearhead.
Stats cannot define Bumrah’s impact
The viral stats by Sky Sports might suggest that Team India fare better in terms of results without Jasprit Bumrah, but it does not capture the true essence of his impact on the team. When it overseas conditions, especially in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) nations, Jasprit Bumrah has been India’s most potent weapon.
In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, Bumrah was far better than any other bowlers from both sides, having picked 32 wickets, including 3 fifers and 2 four-wicket hauls, at an average of 13.06 and an economy rate of 2.76. He was adjudged the Player of the Series award despite Team India surrendering the BGT to Australia for the first time in 10 years following 1-3 five-match series defeat.
Since his Test debut in 2018, Jasprit Bumrah has picked 150 wickets, including 10 fifers, at an average of 20.64 and an economy rate of 2.77 in 31 matches in SENA nations. Interestingly, no other bowler has managed to picked more than 100 wickets in SENA countries since his Test debut. The second best is Mohammed Shami, who picked 79 wickets in 22 matches, staggering 71 wickets fewer than Bumrah.
Jasprit Bumrah’s overall performance in the SENA nations highlights how consistent he has been in the toughest conditions for fast bowlers and proves why his value to Team India goes far beyond just win-loss statistics.
