New Delhi: Former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra on Thursday said that handing Jasprit Bumrah his Test debut against South Africa in the first test would be a good decision as his unorthodox style could turn out to be deadly on the Cape Town pitch.
“Jasprit Bumrah can be a good choice for the first Test in Cape Town. I don’t know what’s there in the team management’s mind but he is the kind of bowler, who can be an asset on the Newlands track during the first Test,” said Nehra.
The veteran left-arm speedster, who was a part of the Indian team when they had toured the, ‘Rainbow Nation’ in 2001 further went on to elaborate as to why he felt that selecting Bumrah for the first Test would be a good decision to make.
“We have seen Bumrah primarily in white ball cricket but just go back a year and check out how many overs he had bowled for Gujarat in Ranji Trophy.
“He has the most lethal yorker among the five pacers along with good slower ones. Also he has an awkward high-arm action, which can be very difficult to pick initially. All these factors work in Bumrah’s favour,” he said.
Nehra also felt that the weather would play a crucial role in Cape Town.
“Cape Town, during January, can get hot and the conditions may not be seam-friendly. Now if it becomes humid and the pitch is a flat one, then Bhuvneshwar may not get the desired swing and seam movement.
“Also if one looks at Bumrah’s record, he has the ability to bowl long spells. He has done it for Gujarat, so I don’t see any reason why he can’t do it for India,” said Nehra, who retired from all forms of cricket earlier this year.
After making his debut in 2016, Bumrah with his awkward action and his ability to bowl yorkers regularly, has turned out to be one of India’s best pacers in limited overs’ cricket. Although he has become accustomed to bowl with the white ball, Nehra feels that it wouldn’t make much of a difference if he gets to bowl with the red cherry in the upcoming series.
Said Nehra, “Bumrah, in last two years, has bowled a lot with white kookaburra in limited overs matches. If we are talking about the seam, it’s the same for the red as well as white ball. And when the seam is no longer pronounced, ones who can hit the deck hard get an advantage.”
He also picked Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma to be his top two bowlers if India decide to go in with three pacers and one spinner.
“Shami is your strike bowler but he will at the maximum bowl six over spells at one go. He is your main weapon and you have to use him judiciously. Now people raise questions about Ishant Sharma’s strike-rate but it needs to be realised that what he brings to the table.
“Ishant is a bowler, who can stifle batsmen bowling over after over from one end. That is a quality that a lot of bowlers don’t have. There have been times that Ishant has created pressure from one end and it has helped bowlers from other end get wickets,” Nehra said.
He also agreed to the fact that the conditions would play a major role in India’s decision of playing three pacers and one spinner.
“It’s the choice between Bumrah, Bhuvi and Umesh Yadav. Now Umesh has a fantastic outswinger at a good pace. He has bowled a lot in home conditions during the past season and is also a contender. But I believe the choice would be very much condition specific,” he explained.
The Delhi pacer who had played his last Test match in 2004 said that this Indian squad has a very good chance of doing well in South Africa as they have experience.
“It’s well-documented by now that each and every top cricketing nation nowadays is playing well at home. Look at Ashes, where Australia have not only won it but they dominated each of the first three Test matches.
“Obviously South Africa will come hard at us but this is a very balanced team. This is currently the best Indian team that had picked itself,” he said.