What makes Bumrah the single-biggest lethal weapon for India is the fact that he has always pushed himself to the maximum irrespective of what the conditions are. He has played test matches on both Indian and foreign soil, and he has run with full steam. And that may be the reason why he has hurt his back on several occasions.
Former Indian fielding coach R Sridhar revealed an incident that happened during the 2019 Test match between India and Australia in Sydney. Bumrah picked up a five-wicket haul in the third Test at Melbourne. Team India then headed to SCG for the final Test match. Observing the dull pitch Bumrah reached out to bowling coach Bharat Arun.
Sir,’ he started, slightly hesitantly, ‘The wicket is absolutely placid, and there is nothing in it for the faster bowlers’. One of Arun’s many strengths is his willingness to listen. He knew Bumrah wanted to tell him something but was unsure how to go about it,” Sridhar wrote in his book ‘Coaching Beyond’. “‘I am very jaded, Sir, physically exhausted and mentally drained,’ he went on. ‘That’s where I am at, personally. There’s nothing at stake so far as the series is concerned. The track is docile. It’s more or less certain that this game will end in a draw?’ After this elaborate build-up, the coin finally dropped. ‘So what I will do, Sir is I’ll bowl a little slowly. I won’t go flat out. I’ll bowl well within myself and take out this Test,'” he added.
But Arun advised him how to use this opportunity to gain a psychological edge over the batsman. Arun’s words worked like a charm on Bumrah. On Day 4, Bumrah bowled full throttle and even though he picked up only one wicket, he could have easily had five, such was his spell after lunch on a hot and humid day. Kuldeep may have emerged as the star but Bumrah with the second second-new ball made the Australian batters look like walking wickets.
