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According to Gillespie, who is now the head coach of Pakistan’s Test team, both Cummins and Bumrah have a knack for creating a wicket when there doesn’t seem to be one.
Jason Gillespie explains what makes Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins so special. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Jasprit Bumrah will lead India’s pace attack in the five-match Test series against Australia, which starts on November 22 in Perth. His form with the ball will play a big role in deciding the result of the series. In the last two tours of Australia, Bumrah has impressed with his performances, and there’re similar expectations from him this time as well. Apart from Bumrah, who is in line to lead India in the series opener at Optus Stadium in Perth, Pat Cummins will also play a big role in the series. The Australian Test captain finished as the leading wicket-taker in the last Test series played between the two teams in Australia, and he is in red-hot form as well these days.
Ahead of the start of the much-awaited Test series between the two top teams in the ICC rankings, former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie, who is the current head coach of the Pakistan team, has explained what makes Bumrah and Cummins so special.
According to Gillespie, the main strength of Bumrah and Cummins is that they are relentless in attacking the batters. They bowl challenging lines and length and have good pace.
“Their major strength is that they are pretty relentless in attacking the batters. They have a good pace and bowl challenging lines and lengths. They are always asking questions about batsmen’s technique. They are always making sure that the batsman has to make good decisions or they will get themselves out. So… they are relentless with their accuracy and discipline, but they also can bowl those unplayable deliveries. Whether it swings really late or it just has that extra half-yard of pace, or it just does something off the surface that not a lot of bowlers have. They just have a knack for creating a wicket when there doesn’t seem to be one. They just create opportunities seemingly out of nowhere,” Gillespie was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
“The batsmen have to make a good decision every time they face Bumrah and Cummins. They always seem to challenge the batsman’s technique. You don’t just see them bowl well outside off-stump or bouncers that go well over the head or balls that go down the leg side. They seem to be on and around that off-stump consistently. The batsmen have to either defend off the front foot or the back foot or leave it off the front or back foot. You don’t see them getting cut or pulled or driven very often. It is because they are so ruthless with their accuracy that those bad balls are few and far between,” he added.
The former Australian pacer, who played multiple Tests and ODIs against India during his playing days, said Siraj is a nice bowler, and he also did well in the last tour of Australia, but Bumrah will remain the key bowler for India in the upcoming series.
“Mohammed Siraj is a nice bowler; he bowled some pretty good spells the last time he was here. But I still think the key bowler for India is Bumrah,” he said.
Bumrah has played seven Tests in Australia so far and has 32 wickets to his name.
