CHENNAI: Another foreign Test series is almost upon India, and talks are bound to centre around one topic that becomes hot during those times: pace-bowling contingent. Jasprit Bumrah and his X factor. Mohammed Shami and his reverse-swinging missiles. Umesh Yadav and his pace. Ishant Sharma and his industry. That paragraph feels incomplete without the mention of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and his adroitness. Despite him pretty much topping the white-ball pecking order, his name has been shunted to the bottom in the red one for Australia.
The last two days of India’s tour game against CA XI saw the first four names send down deliveries — Bumrah did so for only seven balls, but he did — at Sydney Cricket Ground. Not Bhuvneshwar, though. That’s not to suggest that Bhuvneshwar the Test bowler is inferior. But even with improved pace, his repertoire of swing and variations may be a bit white-collared for Australia, where blue-collared traits like bending of back and generating pace assume greater importance.
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Former India speedster TA Sekhar agrees with this line of thought. “He’s a very smart bowler. There’s no doubt about that. He’s loaded with variations. But, these Tests won’t really be about them. Considering the pitches they have, getting bounce consistently could very well dictate results. That said, Bhuvneshwar’s back has been an area of concern for a while. He may have recovered, but things like those make it difficult for a bowler to hit the deck, which is a must for this tour.”
Bouncy pitches aren’t the only dynamic which is deterring the think-tank from making Bhuvneshwar a permanent fixture in Tests for this tour. Among the two other factors that Sekhar fleshes out, the first is the Kookaburra ball. “It doesn’t produce the kind of movement that Dukes does, off the pitch or in the air. Bhuvi depends on letting the ball seam off the pitch. That combined with the probing angles makes him lethal.
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“But, Kookaburra also sustains more damage, which requires bowlers to put in more effort to extract bounce. Ishant may be one-dimensional — he pegs away at one, shortish length till the batsman gives his wicket up — but that’s the kind of skillset that may get more wickets in Australia. Bhuvi could be in for a more difficult time when the ball sustains wear and tear.”
Experience in Australia is the other point of consideration that, according to Sekhar, may see India plump for a quartet sans Bhuvneshwar. His average may be the worst for a specialist bowler Down Under (62.15), but Ishant has three tours of the nation under his belt. Umesh has two and Shami one. Bhuvneshwar played one match in 2014, for a tally of 1/168 in 42 overs.
“Bumrah has pretty much become India’s go-to wicket-taker in this format. He picks himself. Ishant has been going to Australia since his debut, and Umesh and Shami too are familiar with conditions. ”
(rahulravi@newindianexpress.com)