(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] India fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been in top form since his comeback from injury. Bumrah’s back injury cost India heavily in past major tournaments such as the previous T20 World Cup and the Asia Cup 2022, in which the Men in Blue failed to reach the finals. Additionally, the 29-year-old also missed the final of the ICC World Test Championship in June 2023 that India lost to Australia. The injury forced the pacer to skip the entire IPL 2023.
During this time, Bumrah faced a lot of heavy criticism as netizens flooded social media, criticising him for his fitness. However, the star pacer tuned out the naysayers and made a strong comeback.
Bumrah, with his extraordinary bowling performance after his strong comeback, put the critics in their place. In 2023, he has played 12 ODI matches, grabbing 22 wickets with an average of 18.45.
Recently on Sunday, Bumrah played a crucial role in India’s 100-run win over England in the 29th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. He bowled 6.5 overs against England, during which the pacer dismissed Dawid Malan, Joe Root and Mark Wood, conceding only 32 runs.
After his remarkable performance against the defending champions, Bumrah, in a conversation with Sky Sports, stated that he was fully aware of the criticism he faced while recovering from the injury. He further mentioned that he is in a zone where he is just enjoying the game and is not “chasing anything.”
“My wife [the TV sports presenter Sanjana Ganesan] also works in the sports-media department. So yeah, I heard a lot of question marks on my career that I will never come back and all of that, but it doesn’t really matter. I’m very happy,” said Bumrah.
“I came back and I realised how much I love playing the game. I was not chasing anything. Great headspace was there when I came back from the injury. So yeah, eventually I’m looking at the positives and trying to enjoy as much as you can,” he added.
Bumrah is currently the second-highest wicket-taker in the ongoing World Cup. He has has picked up 14 wickets in six matches with an impressive bowling average of 15.07 and an economy rate of 3.92.