Armed with an anomalous, sling-arm action and natural pace, Jasprit Bumrah first arrived on the cricketing circuit as the bowler, with an unorthodox action, who had everyone wondering whether he was really bowling legal deliveries. But, the more we got to see of this speedster, the better he got with his bowling skills.

Today, he is not just some guy who bowls with a weird action, rather the 26-year-old has become a vital cog in the Indian bowling department. His deceit in line and length and variation in speed has established him as one of the most effective bowlers in the death overs in international cricket.

However, a stress fracture in his back forced Bumrah away from competitive cricket for four months. The Indian seamer did recover and made his Team India return, but, since then, he hasn't looked at his prolific best.

© Reuters

For a genuine wicket-taking option for his team, Bumrah appears to battling his own demons as he tries to regain his form since returning from injury. The fact that opposition batsmen are probably happy to score limited runs off him while denying him an opportunity to claim a scalp is a valid reason behind his wicket-less run in the recently-concluded ODI series. 

But, for a bowler of his calibre and skillset, Bumrah surely needs to rethink his strategy to find his rhythm and lost form. So, how can he do it? Well, Zaheer Khan seems to have an answer.

"When you build a reputation like how Jasprit Bumrah has built now over the years, you will have to fight this. Bumrah is in a phase where teams are saying 'even if we get thirty five runs we are happy with that as long as we are not giving him wickets because then we can attack the other bowlers'," Zaheer told Cricbuzz.

View the full article