India National Cricket Team pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has revealed that he had no clue about the promotion of the spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar to No.3 in the Test playing XI.
Jasprit Bumrah said that he was kept in the dark about the massive development within the Test team, seemingly stating that he is not part of the leadership group at the moment.
I am not really aware was what was the whole thought process – Jasprit Bumrah
The first Test of the two-match series between India and South Africa started on Friday, November 14, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
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For the all-important match, Team India made a couple of huge changes to the playing XI as Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Kumar Reddy were dropped and were replaced by Axar Patel and Dhruv Jurel.
To add to this, India made a shocking change to the batting line-up as Washington Sundar was slotted at the No.3 position following the axing of Sai Sudharsan, and this left everyone shocked.
At the end of the first day’s play, Sundar was unbeaten at 6 runs after coming out at No.3, and Jasprit Bumrah was asked to address this decision at the press conference, to which he replied (as quoted by SportsKeeda):
“I am not the captain as of now. I am sure, there must be a reasoning behind it and when those guys come, you can ask them. I am not really aware was what was the whole thought process. We back all our players to do the job. But, I don’t know what was the conversation behind it.”
We go to England, the atmosphere is different – Jasprit Bumrah
After the first day’s play, South Africa’s batting coach Ashwell Prince complained about the pitch while speaking to reporters and saying that it had a lot of uneven bounce.
Talking about this, Jasprit Bumrah said that a team needs to be prepared to deal with any kind of challenge when they’re travelling abroad for Test matches. He said (as quoted by RevSportz):
“That’s the challenge of Test cricket, right? Whenever you go to different conditions, the challenge is different. We went to South Africa and five sessions, the Test match was over (Cape Town). So, it’s never a simple answer that this is how the wicket should be.”
“This is the challenge of Test cricket. We go to England, the atmosphere is different. We go to Australia, the challenge is different. So, we have to adapt. We as a team will not point fingers and complain that this is how it is. Yes, we are skilful players and that is why we are in our national side. It is our job to adapt and find ways because that’s how professional cricket works.”
When I bowled the first over, everything happened – Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah also gave his insights on the pitch, saying that the ball was doing a lot when he bowled his first over of the match. He stated:
“When the ball is hard and nice maybe the deviation is a little quicker. As and when the ball becomes softer, the deviation lessens and then your accuracy comes into play.
“When I bowled the first over, everything happened – the ball swung, it stayed low. It was a little difficult to understand what is the right length.”
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