Kapil Dev Opens up on Jasprit Bumrah’s Future, Says it is Difficult for Pacer to Prolong His Career With Awkward Action

Former Indian captain Kapil Dev feels it would be difficult for Jasprit Bumrah to play for the next 10-12 years because of his awkward action. Bumrah has a stuttering run-up and thus his body takes a lot of load as he bowls consistently over 135 kmph.

Bumrah’s workload has been questioned by many cricket experts and fans after the tour of England. As it was earlier decided, Bumrah played three out of the five Test matches against England. The ace pacer bagged 14 wickets in three games at an average of 26 but he was questioned for missing the series-decider against the hosts.

Kapil Dev said on Squirrel’s YouTube Channel, “There are two things that always come out. Any bowler in the world with an awkward action takes that much difficult time for a batter to pick the ball like Malinga. Those types of bowlers we don’t practice in the nets, and suddenly out of the blue, somebody comes with a different action, a difficult action, that fraction of a second, if you can’t pick what he’s trying to do, that is good enough for a bowler.

The 1983 World Cup-winning captain reckons Bumrah surprises the opposition batters with his extra pace despite such a short run-up.

He added, “So, Bumrah has become very good because nobody could imagine from a batsman’s point of view that in such a short run up, he can generate such big pace. His action is not like an athlete’s action; that’s why Bumrah can be devastating for the opposition. But can he sustain that for a period of 10 or 12 years, which, as a cricketer, we feel is difficult.”

On the other hand, Dev recalled one advice from his former teammate Sunil Gavaskar. The Little Master told Dev that it was difficult for him to judge what the latter was trying to do when he bowled close to the wicket.

“I remember one small lesson I got from Sunil Gavaskar. He said to me, ‘Kapil, when you bowl close to the wicket, it is very difficult for me to judge what you are trying to do.

“So, I don’t know when to leave the ball and when to play. But when you bowl from wide of the crease, I can see the ball much better. So that one small point, sometimes only your colleague can say, others may not understand.”

Meanwhile, Bumrah will miss the upcoming Duleep Trophy.