Ian Bishop, the former West Indian pacer, has said that changing Jasprit Bumrah’s action is no longer possible, and he must adapt to whatever action he has now. The 55-year-old further suggested that Bumrah should take inspiration from England’s Mark Wood, who has found a way to manage injuries and continues to play at the top level. The Indian speedster has been out of action since September 2022 due to back injuries; however, he is reportedly aiming for a return during the 2023 World Cup in India in October-November.
Ian Bishop recalled how Wood followed advice from Michael Holding and made an improvement. Rather than altering his bowling style, the ex-cricketer believes Bumrah must figure out a way to excel regardless. He said:
“Everybody has got a unique way in how they formulate their action, and Jasprit is more unique than most others, so I think he has got to use the physical gifts he was blessed with fine-tune it as he goes along. It is a tough one? How do you change?”
‘Mikey Holding is like a father figure to me and I know he spoke to Mark Wood about extending his run-up to alleviate the exacting force on his body compared to a shorter run. Mark has done that and it seems to have assisted him. So Jasprit is going to find his own way. I don’t think you can look at changing his action.”
India has often felt Bumrah’s absence recently, especially during the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. The 29-year-old is regarded as one of the premier pacers for the Men in Blue across all formats, making his impact even more significant.
“I don’t think there is any one recipe”: Ian Bishop
Ian Bishop believes that the decision to select which format of cricket to play lies in the hands of the bowlers, but workload management is just as important. Ian Bishop explained:
“Any fast bowler worth his soul can play all formats of the game all year and maintain his cutting edge pace; it is just too demanding. The sprint up and down, the hamstring, the workload of the body – it has to be managed. I don’t think there is any one recipe. Because we don’t decide on the minds and bodies of these outstanding athletes. The decisions has to be made by the individuals and administrators close to him but I will throw one thing out for the governing bodies, it is just an advice. You can’t play these guys in every tournament.”