Jasprit Bumrah calls for alternative for bowlers: The Indian fast bowler has expressed concerns for the bowlers in the absence of usage of saliva.
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Had it not been for the novel COVID-19 pandemic, India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah would have been relaxing right now after a grueling season of the Indian Premier League for Mumbai Indians.
The 13th season of cricket’s biggest T20 league would have solved some conundrums as far as the Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 was concerned.
However, if Cricket Australia’s leaked letter to the ICC is to be believed, their aspiration to host the T20 World Cup next year is likely to rule out the event which was originally scheduled to commence from October 18.
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Speaking to former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop and former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock on ICC’s video series Inside Out interviews, Bumrah disclosed how the Indian team was looking forward to the T20 World Cup after four years.
“We were really preparing well for it. We had a lot of T20 games before the World Cup as per the old schedule. If everything had been on plan, we would have had the IPL as well so we would have had a fair number of T20 games.
“We would always want to believe that we can win the tournament. That is how we felt in the 2019 World Cup, but you know how the game was. In half an hour, 40 minutes it can change,” Bumrah was quoted as saying.
Jasprit Bumrah calls for alternative for bowlers
After Australia all-rounder Marnus Labuschagne, spearhead Mitchell Starc and batsman Steve Smith and Indian spinners in Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin, Bumrah has become the latest player to share his views on ICC banning saliva to shine a cricket ball.
Bumrah, who didn’t categorize himself as someone who celebrates a lot after dismissing a batsman, did hint at consequences bowlers could face if no replacement is introduced by the global body.
“I was not much of a hugger anyway! And not a high-five person as well, so that doesn’t trouble me a lot. The only thing that interests me is the saliva bit. I don’t know what guidelines we’ll have to follow when we come back, but I feel there should be an alternative.
“If the ball is not well maintained, it’s difficult for the bowlers. The grounds are getting shorter and shorter, the wickets are becoming flatter and flatter. So we need something, some alternative for the bowlers to maintain the ball so that it can do something – maybe reverse in the end or conventional swing,” Bumrah further said.
