IND vs SA: Boom time at Eden! Jasprit Bumrah leaves no stone unturned ahead of first Test

Jasprit Bumrah was among the most visible players in India’s nets on Tuesday and bowled mostly with a short run-up. “He has just come off a white ball series in Australia and for Tests, he has to prepare differently,” Gandhi said. “In the nets, he would be concentrating on length balls and probing the off-stump.”

Eden could find Jasprit Bumrah at his best, especially as the curators have tried to ensure that the bowlers are not left feeling like the unwanted child. (AFP Photo)

KOLKATA: The Indian team was scheduled to begin their practice at 9:30 am at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday. They started half-an-hour earlier. Skipper Shubman Gill went straight to the pitch, bending low to fathom its character. Jasprit Bumrah headed for the bowlers net, limbering up for a session that lasted almost two hours.

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“Bumrah is extremely hard working and likes getting down to business as soon as he can,” Devang Gandhi, who was a national selector when the pacer made his Test debut in 2018, told TOI. Bumrah is all set to play his 51st Test here from Friday, when India take on South Africa. In an eight-year long career that has been hit by a few injuries, which have even forced him to be selective, he has grabbed 226 wickets so far and looks good for a lot more.

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Bumrah was among the most visible players in India’s nets on Tuesday and bowled mostly with a short run-up. “He has just come off a white ball series in Australia and for Tests, he has to prepare differently,” Gandhi said. “In the nets, he would be concentrating on length balls and probing the off-stump.” Bumrah started off with three stumps, knocked off two and consistently went after the sole one remaining upright. He did go for the imaginary off-stump, guiding the ball away, as if trying to induce the batter to follow it. Once the bowlers’ net got crowded, he shifted to the batters’ one to send down a few. “That’s the kind of effort he puts in,” Gandhi added. Despite having talent in abundance, Bumrah clearly believes in practice to achieve perfection. And in this quest, if he has to be selective, you cannot grudge him, feels Gandhi. “It might seem he misses crucial games now and then, but in the long run, India stand to benefit from his presence,” he said. Another former cricketer opined that preserving Bumrah as long as possible was crucial for India. “If he is not there, it is as good as half the attack not being there,” he said. Not that Bumrah has always been successful. There have been matches where the batters have gone after him and succeeded. Eden could find Bumrah at his best, especially as the curators have tried to ensure that the bowlers are not left feeling like the unwanted child. “If he finds some help, he might prove to be a handful,” Gandhi said. Tuesday’s practice was optional and quite a few of the players who turned out in the ‘A’ games against South Africa opted to take a break. While Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav were among those who stayed away, Sai Sudharsan had a feel of the Eden Gardens. And those who flew in from Australia following the white-ball series there, like Gill, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy, spent some quality time at the nets.

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