In Bumrah, MI have all eggs in one basket
KOLKATA: Not since 2016 has he had a worse IPL average or strike rate. The difference isn’t much though. And viewed in isolation, it shouldn’t be cause for much worry. Toiling away without reward is a truth every bowler takes into stride. Except this is slowly becoming a worrying pattern. The wickets column looks bare. The lengths aren’t always threatening. Jasprit Bumrah, India’s all-format strike bowler, is quietly turning defensive for Mumbai Indians.
Right now, MI are falling prey to their lofty ambition. Picking Jofra Archer in the auction, knowing full well that he wouldn’t be available this season, was always a punt but probably now are they realising its consequences. Equally dicey was the decision to release the Pandya brothers and Rahul Chahar when they should have known Kieron Pollard is in no shape to bowl much (he has bowled seven overs this edition, across two innings). That essentially meant MI retained three batters (Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Pollard) and Bumrah before splurging ₹15.25 crore on Ishan Kishan and ₹8 crore on Archer, nearly half their auction purse of ₹48 crore on two players who wouldn’t bowl this season.
From a bowling group teeming with experienced faces like Trent Boult, Chahar and the Pandya brothers, Bumrah now finds himself helming an attack with far less sting and more inconsistent than ever. All he can do is react, and adapt.
“It’s a transition phase that every cricketer understands and every team goes through that,” he said a day before Wednesday’s 12-run loss to Punjab Kings. “We are in that phase; we’ve got a new group. We’ve got some of the old core group as well but a lot of new guys who are understanding the team, understanding the franchise, understanding how the scenarios works... understanding the format of IPL, how you have to handle pressure and achieve success in this league. We are going through that.”
The first, almost inescapable, sacrifice when you are trying to keep shape in times like these is rhythm. Two consecutive overs upfront, two in the backend— that is usually how Bumrah operated till the last season. Not this time though. Coming in the third over against PBKS, he reminded them MI are more than Jaydev Unadkat and Basil Thampi at the start.