TimesofIndia.com in Dubai:Jasprit Bumrah at present is at par with Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Like the latter duo, from whom fans and experts expected centuries every match, Bumrah is currently going through the same phase. The ongoing Asia Cup is probably the first tournament where Bumrah has looked off-colour. He has been hit for sixes on the up, looked agitated on the field, on social media as well, and most importantly, he has lost his smile. Jasprit Bumrah has taken only five wickets—with an economy rate of 7.33—in four games in the 2025 Asia Cup, which by no means is bad, but he has not looked threatening, barring the one match against Bangladesh. In this tournament, he has been bowling three overs up front in the powerplay, which is quite strenuous, and something he had not done in his career. “That is obviously a tough job, bowling three overs in the powerplay,” bowling coach Morne Morkel told reporters on Friday. “Jasprit is one of the best bowlers in the world. And with a new ball, obviously we’re looking to take wickets. I think if you have the opponents six or seven wickets down before the last four overs, it can make life a lot easier for you. “On the surface, the wicket is playing a certain way. The plan is no secret that we’re going to take pace off the ball, but we’ll spin after the powerplay. So what a great opportunity for the best bowler in the world. He’s got all the skills in terms of swinging and bowling yorkers to strike first up front. “We know the number one rule, or the golden rule, in T20 cricket is to take wickets. And if we can do that by using one of our best bowlers to strike, that’s a great weapon to have. But that might change according to what we feel will be best on the day. We just felt it was a nice opportunity to give him that role, to try and strike first up front and get early wickets,” Morkel explained the reason behind using Bumrah up front. India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, on the eve of the Super Four game against Bangladesh, also showered praise on Bumrah for doing an “exceptionally tough job.” “He’s doing a very tough task. You don’t see many bowlers in this format bowling all three overs in the powerplay. So it’s quite strenuous as well. But we feel it’s the right amount of work going into the Test match against West Indies, and obviously the importance of this competition as well,” ten Doeschate said. Bumrah has had only one poor game, and that was against Pakistan in the Super Four, where he went wicketless and conceded 45 runs. “It wasn’t his most polished performance against Pakistan the other night. But we also understand that he’s doing an exceptionally tough job—to bowl the first three overs with two fielders out, and the last over or the second-last over where guys are going hard as well. “There’s going to be days where he doesn’t get wickets and goes for runs. But in terms of how we set up the team, with two seamers and going spin-heavy, we feel at the moment that’s the best job,” ten Doeschate said. Jasprit Bumrah thrives on challenges. He is a non-conformist. He has always chosen the unconventional route. “Bumrah is a generational talent and he is an outlier,” Soham Desai, former India Strength and Conditioning coach, told TimesofIndia.com. “He is a freak of nature. So he is a person who will always be discussed. Even 50–100 years from now, his case will be discussed because of the uniqueness he brings to the table with his bowling, his mindset, his body, his action, his impact, and in such a short span, what he has achieved for himself and the country,” Desai said. In this tournament, Bumrah is not making headlines for his bowling but for not being able to run through opponents, and also for the way he reacted to Mohammed Kaif’s tweet, which was needless. A few years ago, in a YouTube conversation with his India teammate Ravichandran Ashwin, Bumrah spoke about his belief system and explained how having two ears helps him deal with unsolicited advice. He had said: “No one believed in me,” “In my head, I felt I was the best,” “You hear with one ear, let it out through the other.” In the final against Pakistan, India would want the Bumrah who has stayed unhinged all his life, and to steal a line from his idol’s autobiography I Am Zlatan, where Ibrahimovic explained his personality—something that resonates with India’s spearhead: “I wanted to stand up to the world and prove to everyone who doubted me who I truly was.” Most importantly, captain Suryakumar Yadav and coach Gautam Gambhir would want their smiling assassin at his very best against their nemesis on Sunday.
