Why Ishant Sharma Asked Virat Kohli to Not Have a Word With Struggling Jasprit Bumrah in Australia

Having made his name in limited-overs cricket, it was natural to be a little circumspect about how Jasprit Bumrah will fare with the challenge of red-ball cricket. However, aced the challenge, leaving everyone pleasantly surprised with how quickly he adjusted to the rigours of Test cricket.

It was in 2018 that Bumrah would be given his Test debut in South Africa. By the end of that year, he had taken 48 wickets from nine Tests – an excellent display that formalised his reputation as one of world’s premier fast bowlers.

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Not that the ride has been a smooth affair. There were times when he would struggle to make an impact and one of such moments came during the Australia tour of 2018-19.

During a Test match Down Under, Bumrah was struggling to make an impact in his first spell. The then captain Virat Kohli decided to have a word with his bowler but then the seasoned Ishant Sharma, as he recalls, stopped him from doing that. And he explains why.

During a chat with Cricbuzz, Ishant, a veteran of 10 Tests, recalled how he had spotted Bumrah’s leadership qualities quite early.

“I knew one day Bumrah will become a leader,” Ishant said on the video. “I remember in 2018, when we were playing a Test in Australia, Bumrah’s first spell didn’t go down well. Virat told me ‘I think I should go and speak to him’.”

However, Ishant advised Kohli against it, arguing Bumrah is aware of what has to be done.

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“I replied, ‘He (Bumrah) is a very smart bowler. He understands it. Usko chhor de. Usko pata hai kya karna, kya nahi karna (Leave him be. He understands what is needed). That he’s quite smart. He understands the game and situation.’ When you understand the situation, especially in Test cricket, you can comeback quickly,” Ishant recalled.

The 29-year-old Bumrah has now played 30 Tests and taken 128 wickets in them at 21.99 including eight five-wicket hauls.

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