Around 11 months ago, Indian cricket was faced with one of its many conundrums regarding captaincy. This was a regular phenomenon in 2022, something that was unheard of either before or after that calendar year. Days before the deciding fifth and final Test in England in July 2022, India’s regular captain Rohit Sharma was found to be Covid19 positive. The regular vice-captain Lokesh Rahul was down with an injury and the former vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane had been dropped from the Test squad. It left Indian selectors and team management with a strange problem.
Former Test captain Virat Kohli was still in the squad, but there was no way they were going to go back to a man who had abdicated his position. They scanned far and wide before finally arriving on their choice for the 36th Test captain of India, Jasprit Bumrah. This was a brave call by the selectors because India’s previous fast bowling captain was Kapil Dev, who was sacked in 1987. So, after 35 years, India would have its first specialist fast bowling captain, albeit Kapil was a fast-bowling all-rounder.
This was indeed an epoch-making decision for a country which was known for its magical spinners. The tide had truly turned!
Fast-bowler captain
"It is a big achievement, big honour. It was my dream to play Test cricket. It is a big achievement that I have gotten the honour to lead the country. It is the biggest achievement of my career. I am very happy," Bumrah had said at the time.
There was some doubt about the role Bumrah could play and this was something on the minds of quite a few. Bumrah had hardly played Test cricket in India and was majorly being used as a strike bowler only away from home. Hence the long-term plan behind Bumrah’s elevation as a Test captain seemed iffy.
“In India, it’s going to be difficult for a fast bowler to captain. A fast bowler captain has to be an all-rounder basically or he has to be a Bob Willis kind of captain who in conditions where they play, a fast bowler will always be in the game, he will be aggressive. He’ll be looking to win games and take wickets. Very rarely has a fast bowler been there for too long. Unless he is a genuine all-rounder like Kapil, Imran or Sir Garfield,” former India head coach and captain Ravi Shastri said on Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar’s YouTube channel.
But from within the team, Bumrah was receiving unqualified support. India head coach Rahul Dravid was on hand to offer advice to Bumrah and reminded him that his first major duty was to pick wickets. “I think he is a very thoughtful individual, understands the game very well. Also, he commands the respect of the team, which is very important as a leader,” Dravid told the broadcaster Sony ahead of the Test.
Edgbaston Test
When the Test began at Edgbaston in Birmingham, Bumrah’s India took charge early on. He himself had a role to play, first with the bat, ironically, as he smacked a world record 29 runs from a Stuart Broad over. This broke former West Indies captain Brian Lara’s 18-year-old world record of 28 runs. Broad may well have had that sinking feeling 15 years after he was smashed for six sixes in an over during the inaugural T20 World Cup by Yuvraj Singh. It was an Indian, yet again!
The stage was set now for Bumrah, the bowler, to take charge of the Test with the ball. India was ahead in the game, before the famed Bazball took over and England chased down what seemed an improbable target of 378 with great ease. Bumrah was shattered, his first Test in charge as captain had ended in disaster. But he yearned for more.
With Sharma past 36, Kohli reluctant, Rahul, Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara not likely to be favoured candidates, Bumrah (now 29) had the world at his feet.
The injury
A few days later in the ODI series that followed, Bumrah simply destroyed the famed England line-up. Bumrah picked up six for 19 at The Oval cricket ground in London to set up a famous Indian win. He played the second ODI of the three-match series as well, but he seemed to be in some discomfort.
Right before the third and final ODI, Bumrah found that he could not play. He was rested but India won the ODI series 2-1, with Bumrah on the sidelines. At that stage, no one had any clue about Bumrah’s fitness. It felt like a typical niggle may have laid him low - nothing to worry millions of Indian cricket fans over.
Bumrah was first pulled out of the West Indies white ball tour that followed, then the Zimbabwe series followed by the Asia Cup. Everyone involved kept their fingers crossed, hoping against hope that the right-arm fast bowler would at least be fit in time for the T20 World Cup in Australia.
He was brought back for the T20I series at home against Australia just before the World Cup raising hopes for all and sundry. He played the last two games of the three-match series, but he did not look his former self. Very soon the cat was out of the bag. Bumrah was ruled out of the T20 World Cup and India’s chances at the mega event suffered a major dent.
Tournaments missed
Bumrah went back to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to continue his rehab. He missed nearly every match that India played since September 2022. This included:
· Three-match ODI and three-match T20I series v South Africa
· T20 World Cup in Australia
· Three-match ODI and three-match T20I series v New Zealand
· Three-match ODI and two-Test series v Bangladesh
It seemed like the new year would bring some good news for Indian fans. And it did!
Bumrah was added to the ODI squad that would play Sri Lanka at home in January 2023. But no sooner was his name added and Bumrah joined the training sessions, he felt the pain once again in his back. Bumrah was out again.
India’s biggest weapon in bowling had now missed close to five months of international cricket. It was hoped that he would be fit in time for the iconic Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at home. A four-Test series to help India qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final (from June 7-11) needed the best players to do battle. But India had more bad news in the offing.
Maverick wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant was ruled out as he was involved in a terrible car accident, whereas Bumrah continued to suffer the after-effects of the back injury.
India somehow managed to scrape through the four-Test series against Australia without both Bumrah and Pant. But there were sterner battles ahead for the Indian cricket squad and India’s cricket.
16th IPL
The billion-dollar Indian Premier League (IPL) was up next. There was a lot of speculation around Bumrah and his availability for the tournament. It was a dream combination that the Mumbai Indians had put together of Bumrah and England’s Jofra Archer. Last year, Archer had been missing and this time Bumrah was not yet to be seen anywhere near training sessions.
A few days before the IPL began, though, we had the first public sighting of Bumrah in person during the final of the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) at the Brabourne Stadium. He was seen chatting with his fellow strike bowler Archer. They were deep in discussion even as Mumbai Indians claimed the WPL title. But Bumrah was yet to be spotted at a training session.
Finally, the IPL got underway this year without Bumrah in action. In the very first match, Bumrah’s absence was felt by his beloved Mumbai Indians as they lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore. Bumrah’s absence had left a giant hole in the Mumbai Indians bowling attack.
Skipper Sharma made a telling statement post the deflating loss at the hands of Bangalore: "For the past six to eight months, I am used to playing without Jasprit Bumrah (for India too),” Sharma said. "Of course, this is a different set-up. Someone needs to put their hand up and come in to fill that place. We can't keep dwelling on it. You can try and control the things that are in your control and those that are not in your control, you can't do that. Injuries are not in your control. The other guys (at Mumbai Indians) that we have are talented. It's just that they haven't played a lot of IPL. We need to give them the support," he added.
Sharma’s practical approach underlined that he knew something that others may not have known at that stage.
“Mr Jasprit Bumrah underwent surgery in New Zealand on his lower back, which was successful and he remains pain-free. The fast bowler was advised by the specialist to start his rehab six weeks after the surgery and accordingly, Mr Bumrah has commenced his rehab management at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru,” said the BCCI in a statement released on April 15, 2023.
India’s toughest challenges this year are the WTC final against Australia in June, followed by the Asia Cup and then the ODI World Cup at home. At this stage no one knows how much longer it will take for Bumrah to be back on a cricket field. He is already out of the WTC final.
He needs to play a few games to get the rhythm back before India can mount a major challenge with him back in the squad during the ODI World Cup. Till then we must get on just like the Indian squad itself has over the past nine months.
"Bumrah's absence is a big loss. He's been a great player, but it happens. It's an opportunity for someone else to stand up. We'll miss him, his personality around the group,” Dravid had said before the T20 World Cup. These words are true even now as Indian cricket heads into the most difficult six months without its bowling spearhead.
Bumrah’s boyhood dream of leading India was fulfilled in 2022. But now in 2023, it's time for the other dream to come true: the World Cup triumph, an ICC white ball title after a decade.
Get fit soon, Jassi. India needs you!
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