MSK Prasad Reveals How Jasprit Bumrah Was Selected For Tests

Jasprit Bumrah is one of the fruitful products of Indian Premier League, who went on to become regular in the Indian National Cricket Team. He was one of the finds of Mumbai Indians, who polished him before handing him to BCCI for International projects. Soon, Jasprit Bumrah made a mark for himself competing with world-class players across the formats. Meanwhile, the chief selector MSK Prasad has revealed the secret behind the selection of him in Test cricket.

Earlier, the former cricketers and the analysts felt that Jasprit Bumrah doesn’t belong to Test form of the game, as his action isn’t that smooth to roll for hours in red-ball cricket. Despite all those suggestions, the chief selector of BCCI MSK Prasad asked Jasprit Bumrah to tour with the Indian team to South Africa.

Right in his first game, Jasprit Bumrah showed his class by knocking down the best batsmen of South Africa. He made AB de Villiers his bunny during the series and later, showed his class against England and Australia. Soon, he raised his bar in the ICC Test rankings, striking wickets at high consistency.

Read More: Twitter Mourns On The 5th Death Anniversary Of Phil Hughes

Followed by Australia series, Jasprit Bumrah was just unplayable against West Indies, where he received accolades from the legendary players like Vivian Richards, Sachin Tendulkar and a few other greats of the game. Mind you, all those scintillating efforts came away from home and one of the main reasons why India became the number one ranked Test side in the world.

There was planning behind Jasprit Bumrah – MSK Prasad

Speaking of the same, MSK Prasad stated that they planned a lot before picking Bumrah for Test cricket. He revealed that the selection panel had asked him to play Ranji Trophy. After making a comprehensive assessment, they asked Jasprit Bumrah to travel with the Indian team to South Africa.

Read More: Sachin Tendulkar Annoyed By Malicious Tweets From Fake Account On Social Media

“Not many believed that he could play Test cricket. So when the selectors and the team management realised that a bowler like him could be handy when we toured abroad, we set him on a fitness and grooming regime. We rested him from a limited-overs series and made him play Ranji before we picked him for the South Africa series. So there was planning that went behind Bumrah,” MSK Prasad said as per Times Now.

Jasprit Bumrah has, thus far, picked 62 wickets in just 12 Tests and hailed as one of the most lethal bowlers of recent times. Currently, he is facing issues with his back and most probably, will return to action when India play New Zealand.