Bumrah’s action will attract a lot of injuries, says Kapil Dev

Indian seamer Jasprit Bumrah, who has been in the news for his pinpoint yorkers and his unconventional action, is currently recuperating from lower stress back fracture and has been away from the sport since the tour of West Indies this year. Former Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev has now come out and spoken about Bumrah’s action, stating that while the Gujarat seamer is the most skilled bowler in the world currently, his action is such that it will take a toll on his body.

“Take the example of Bishan Bedi. He was a body bowler, not an arm bowler like most spinners or wrist bowlers. He was technically the best spin bowler because he bowled with the body. Look at Gavaskar as a batsman — technically flawless.

Even today, at 70, give him a bat and he will come out technically very sound. But if a batsman is an ‘eye player’ he is more enjoyable to watch. Like Virender Sehwag, (GR) Viswanath. Take Sachin Tendulkar. He could have played for another five years because he was technically sound,” Kapil told Sportstar.

“So if your bowling action is technically sound you make a bigger impact. See what happened to (Jasprit) Bumrah, his action attracts injuries. He uses his arm more than body, so that can be a problem. A bowler like Bhuvneshwar Kumar will last longer because he uses his body,” he further added.

Bumrah’s action involves a hop, a skip and a trundle before he goes on to hurl the ball with a slingy action, often compared to Lasith Malinga.

Dev also advised the current crop of Indian seamers to keep bowling at a consistent length and not pull their lengths back especially overseas.

“Unfortunately Indian bowlers tend to bowl short in Australia because they get carried away after seeing the bounce. In the process, they forget line and length. I can understand because when the wicketkeeper collects the ball in front of his face it cheers you up. But it does not always get you wickets. Mohammed Shami is guilty of that. He bowls a yard shorter when he plays overseas,” he said.

Team India’s next Test assignment will be the tour of New Zealand in February, while they play Windies next month in a three-match ODI and T20I series.