"Fighting and Playing.."- Jasprit Bumrah warns England to stay away from incidents like Lord's

Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah will make a comeback into the Indian squad in the Test series against England. India will play a five-match Test series at home starting with the first Test in Hyderabad on January 25. 

Ahead of the first Test, Bumrah in a recent interview with The Guardian, recalled his on-field battle with veteran England pacer James Anderson from the famous England tour of 2021. India led the series 2-1 before the fifth and final test in Manchester was postponed due to COVID. 

Jasprit Bumrah bowled a 10-ball over to Anderson at Lord’s and tested him with bouncers with India looking for the final wicket to win the Test match. Bumrah targeted Anderson’s body and bowled at him a series of short-pitched deliveries. 

James Anderson’s Reaction Triggered The Whole Team: Jasprit Bumrah

“I was tired, I thought the last wicket was there, I tried to push to bowl fast. I went up to him (mid-over), asked ‘Are you OK?’ and didn’t get a good response. So that brought back some young memories; trying to be the nice guy and it not being taken well. And it triggered the whole team,” Bumrah said in his interaction with The Guardian.

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Bumrah even said that he went to Anderson to ask if he was ok. However, it was followed by a no-so-good response. The Indian pacer said Anderson’s negative response triggered the whole Indian team leading to intense and heated exchanges for the remainder of the match. India won the match in the end by 151 runs. 

“It was red mist but it was channeled. Fighting and playing is second nature to us; controlling that is self-taught,” Bumrah added.

The Indian pacer also shared his admiration for the England veteran who has been playing international cricket since 2002 and is still going strong. He is back for yet another India tour and would like to make this tour a memorable one. 

“A lot of credit to (Anderson), I can genuinely say I’ve been watching him since I was a child. It’s credit to him (he is still playing at 41), a testament to his hunger and passion. It’s one thing having helpful conditions but to keep doing all that preparation. Skill, technique can be learned, but the will to keep going, that’s a big big tick for me,” Bumrah said.

The India-England Test series starts with the first Test in Hyderabad from January 25-29. Visakhapatnam hosts the second Test from February 2-6, followed by the third Test in Rajkot from February 15-19.

Ranchi hosts the fourth Test in challenging conditions from February 23-27. The series concludes with the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala from March 7-11.

James Anderson has taken 139 wickets against India in 35 Test matches. However, he has only picked up 34 wickets across 13 Test matches in India. Bumrah on the other hand, is just nine wickest shy of 50 Test wickets against England. Anderson himself is just 10 wickets short of getting to 700 Test wickets as well. 

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