SYDNEY: “Bas ab… nahi lag raha zor (Enough now, don’t have the energy).” That was Jasprit Bumrah on stump mic when asked if he could bowl one more on day four of the Boxing Day Test between India and Australia. Skipper Rohit Sharma had asked Bumrah if he had it in him for another over, he had already bowled 23 of the 72 overs till then, taking 4/42.
That, in essence, has been the summary of India’s tour so far. In a series that from the outside looks very competitive with the scoreline reading 2-1 going into the fifth and final Test in the hot Sydney weekend, Bumrah has made a world of difference. Take him and the 30 wickets he took in 141.2 overs across eight innings out of the equation, the scoreline might read very differently.
So much so that Sharma, and India, have turned to Bumrah at every possible turn. Because he was bloody good, and the others weren’t as much. Mohammed Siraj has bowled almost (129.1) as Mitchell Starc (131.2) but he went for 3.89 runs per overs. It pales in comparison with Scott Boland (64.5 overs in two games and 11 wickets with an economy of 3.1) and Josh Hazlewood (40 overs in three innings and six wickets with an economy of 1.97).
Harshit Rana looked brilliant in Perth and erratic in Adelaide. Then there is Akash Deep, who has run in and beaten the outside edge time and again with little success. Which meant more often than not the bowling strategy seemed like bring Bumrah, rotate others till Bumrah is ready to bowl again.
Sharma admitted how hard it is to not keep going to Bumrah time and again. “To be honest, he has bowled a lot of overs,” said Sharma. “There is no doubt about it. But again, every Test match we play, we keep that in mind. You know, the workloads of all the bowlers in fact. But again, if somebody is in such great form, you want to try and maximise that form how much ever you can. And that is what we've been trying to do with Bumrah.”
“But there comes a time where you need to step back a little bit and give him that little bit of extra breather as well. So, we've been very careful. I've been very careful. I talk to him about how he feels and stuff like that. So, yeah. Those things should be managed carefully. And I'm trying to do that on the field," he added.
As much as he has tried to do that to the best of his abilities, what hasn’t helped is the lack of contribution from others, especially the all-rounders. While Sharma said they went ahead with Washington Sundar and Nitish K Reddy to ensure they had the batting depth while retaining the ability to take 20 wickets, the numbers tell a different story. Reddy, who has played all four games, has bowled just 35 overs while Washington has bowled only 36 in two games — one which he played as a lone spinner. Ravindra Jadeja, playing in Brisbane and Melbourne, bowled 60 overs while R Ashwin sent down 18 in the pink ball Test.
It makes one wonder how prominent was Washington or Reddy’s role with the bat, especially with the top-order failing, in them having their place than their bowling or ability to take wickets consistently. Their limited usage with the ball essentially meant Bumrah, and of course, Siraj and Akash Deep bowled more often with the vice-captain doing the heavy lifting.
It is the difference between playing four/five frontline bowlers and going for 20 wickets and playing three premium pacers and three all-rounders who might not necessarily reduce the workload of the former. That Pat Cummins and Bumrah have similar kind of workload, and so do Siraj and Starc, despite India having two extra bowling options tells the effectiveness of the combination and the workload it has imposed on Bumrah.
Speaking at a media interaction about McGrath Foundation expanding their support to not just breast cancer patients but also everyone who is affected by cancer, former Australia pacer Glenn McGrath said the series would have been more one-sided without Bumrah.
“I guess they're managing him. His stats are unbelievable. I'm a massive fan of Jasprit. I met him when he was younger. What he's grown into is unbelievable. He's been a massive part of the Indian team and of the summer. Without him, this series might be a little bit more one-sided,” McGrath said standing at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
As India take the field on Friday attempting to level the series, Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir will have to sit down and figure out whether having six bowlers, three of them all-rounders, is the solution for their batting issues. For there is no one like Bumrah and the last thing India would want to do is to bowl him into the ground with not much to show for in terms of results.