WTC Final: Selectors picked Jasprit Bumrah because of his reputation and not form – Saba Karim

Former Indian wicket-keeper batsman Saba Karim feels Jasprit Bumrah was picked in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand because of his high reputation and not form.

Bumrah hasn’t been in the best of form in the recent past but there is no doubt that he is India’s best bowler in all three formats of the game.

However, Bumrah could not deliver the goods in the all-important WTC final. The gun fast bowler went wicketless in both innings as he was not at his best. Bumrah bowled on the short side in the first innings as he struggled with his length and looked ineffective.

“I feel the selectors did not pay attention to the current form and went on with reputation to a certain extent. Jasprit Bumrah has not played red-ball cricket since he got injured in Australia,” Karim told India News.

“He has only played white-ball cricket and that too only the T20s. He did not play in the home series against England. I felt he was woefully out of form and along with that out of practice if we talk about red-ball cricket,” added Bumrah.

Meanwhile, Bumrah didn’t have the rub of the green on his side as he bowled his heart out and went past the edge on numerous occasions in the second dig.

In fact, Bumrah was able to produce outside edge of Ross Taylor when New Zealand required another 55 runs but Cheteshwar Pujara could not grab the catch at first slip. It is noticed that the right length to bowl in English conditions is a tad fuller but Bumrah was off the mark.

“To a certain extent, I felt he was getting back his rhythm in the second innings spell he bowled; he was also unlucky at times. But in the end, he couldn’t catch the length that is required in red-ball cricket, especially in conducive conditions, in the entire Test match. I feel this is a very big area of concern and it is required to rectify this in the upcoming series,” said Karim.

Jasprit Bumrah is India’s best fast bowler and he needed to step up on the big stage but couldn’t come up with the goods. Bumrah had the experience of bowling in English conditions as he had done a decent job in 2018 tour of England. However, he could come up with the goods in the WTC Final and will be disappointed with his effort.