“May Take Some Time To Settle Down”: Ex India Selector On Jasprit Bumrah Hitting Top Form

After being on the sidelines for more than two months due to a knee injury, India pacer Jasprit Bumrah made his return to action during the three-match T20I series against Australia

After being on the sidelines for more than two months due to a knee injury, India pacer Jasprit Bumrah made his return to action during the three-match T20I series against Australia. While Bumrah returned figures one for 23 in the second T20I, he conceded 50 runs in the third match and also failed to pick a wicket. Speaking ahead of India’s three-match series against South Africa, former India selector Saba Karim spoke about Bumrah’s form after injury, saying that the star pacer might take some time to get back to his absolute best.

“I can understand that he’s coming back after a long layoff and may take some time to settle down but let’s not get carried away, Jasprit Bumrah in all the games that he will play will be extremely effective – so that may not happen. Having said that, I do believe Jasprit Bumrah, the kind of bowling combination they have right now, and Harshal Patel also, both of them can come good at the right time for India,” Karim said while speaking exclusively on Sports18’s daily sports news show ‘Sports Over The Top’.

While pointing out that T20 is a format of margins, Karim further suggested that the pacers might struggle to bowl well consistently, adding that a player should have faith in his skill and abilities.

“At times we just tend to get carried away and want pace bowlers to deliver in a very effective manner in all the T20 formats – it is not going to happen. The entire format is based so much on unpredictability. So, in one game you may have a very good outing, second game some of the batters may get after you. What is more important is that particular bowler is supposed to have faith in his skill and abilities. So, one can see that in Jasprit Bumrah,” he added.

Bumrah did not feature in the first T20I against South Africa due to “back pain”.

India went on to win the match by eight wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series.