In the past few years, Bumrah has become a name synonymous with fast bowling in India. Since his inception, rise, and boom till he became Boom-Boom, we have seen him grow immensely. With the current scenario, it seems that his growth also increased team India’s reliance on him. Without him, it seemed that India is only good for chases and it became evident in Asia Cup 2022 and then started the cry for Bumrah and it has no end.
Team India fans thought his inclusion in the T20 World Cup 2022 was going to be the team’s savior on the fierce Australia pitches but they were only disappointed later. Bumrah is out of the tournament and fans cannot be more worried. But is this drama worth the hype? Let’s take a look at a few stats and see if Team India really needs Bumrah to win the T20 World Cup 2022
Bumrah in T20s
Bumrah has played 60 international matches for India. He has taken 70 wickets at an average of 20.23 and an impressive economy of 6.62. Of which, 10 are International tournaments in which he has taken 11 wickets with an even better economy of 6.46. For the bowler who bowls in the powerplay and death overs, his economy speaks for the quality bowler he is. Compared to his contemporaries, his numbers are better.
Bumrah’s influence on Team India in T20s
Of the 60 matches Bumrah has played for India, India has been victorious in 45 of them. The team lost 13 with him in the squad and 2 had no result. Of these 60, 10 are the International tournaments where India has emerged victorious in 8 of them. 5 are from Asia Cup 2016 when Bumrah was young and new to the squad and those 2 matches that India lost are from World Cup 2021. Where India lost to Pakistan and Newzealand and hence was not qualified for the next phase of the tournament.
Bumrah in recent year
Cricket is a dynamic sport. A lot has changed since the pandemic. From players’ looks to players’ outlook toward the game. Since the T20 World Cup 2021, Bumrah has only played 5 matches in which he has taken 4 wickets. But he gave runs, a lot of them. There has been issues with his back in the recent past, a problem which is common to pacers. But he hasn’t been able to recover well and that is a concern.
India without Bumrah
Even though Bumrah seems like the wizard who may solve all of the problems of team India, he is not something that India needed when playing the bilateral series. Since the WC2021, India has played, 33 matches. Of which, India only lost 8 winning 24. One match had no result. From those 24 wins, India was present only on 5 occasions. The losses that hurt were only that came in Asia Cup because apart from that, India won all the series they have played.
Why do we miss Bumrah and is Bumrah really necessary?
India faced a lot of flak for not winning the T20 World Cup 2021 even after being tournament favorites. The scenarios changed after that it was interpreted that India may win the bilateral series but they fall behind in world tournaments and it is their weakness. This became more evident when they lost and didn’t even reach the finals of Asia Cup 2022 where they were the clear favorites (again). It was noticed that India was lacking a quality pace attack and then we were reminded of Bumrah. The man was out of the squad due to injury. And so, the saga became about him and the nation got worried about his recovery.
But since we have seen that India can easily and clearly win matches without our man Boom. We probably need investment in other pacers that may give a Boom-Boom boost in our confidence and provide assurance that we can win the ICC tournaments. We can win without Bumrah, we just need to push ourselves hard for it. The stats clearly say WE CAN!
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