“We didn’t think Jasprit Bumrah would be able to play this far” - Kapil Dev backs Indian pace spearhead

Former Indian captain and analyst Kapil Dev has defended the Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah despite a growing workload concern on the pacer in the ongoing five-match England Test series.

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Kapil Dev’s comments came right after Bumrah’s pace dipped a lot on the third day of the ongoing Manchester Test. Though he bowled at an economy of 3.4, he could scalp only two wickets in his 33-over spell in the first innings of the fourth Test.

Speaking at a golf event, the World Cup-winning captain asserted that Bumrah’s bowling action is difficult to sustain as he puts a lot of stress on his body. However, he added that the pacer is still delivering to the Indian team despite having a lot of workload concerns. 

“I think everybody is different. Times have changed, bodies are different. They are working differently. It is difficult to judge. Yes, he is one of the fast bowlers we have, but his action is so awkward, and it is difficult to sustain,” Kapil said, as quoted by PTI.

“We didn’t think he would be able to play this far because he puts too much stress on the body. But still, he is delivering to the Indian team. So hats off to him,” he added.

Furthermore, Kapil also backed the newly appointed Indian Test captain, Shubman Gill, who faced a lot of wrath in the ongoing Manchester Test for not utilizing Washington Sundar early in the innings. He reckoned that since Gill is a new captain, he will learn a lot, and the ongoing England tour will be a learning curve for him.

“Give him time. This is his first series; he will commit mistakes and there will be many positives over the period of time, he will learn. There is no problem if he is learning. There will be mistakes, but he is learning from his mistakes, which is very important,” he added.

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“This is a young team, they are getting the opportunity to play and in the coming days these players will win. It is just a new team. Any new team in the world takes time to adjust. Gill is a new captain, and he will learn a lot and I think this series will be a learning step,” he noted.

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