On his comeback — brief, as it has turned out to be — to international cricket after more than two months, Varun Chakaravarthy finished with impressive figures of one for 16 from his full complement of four overs against Afghanistan on Sunday. On the face of it, there is nothing remarkable about those numbers, apart from the fact that he only went for four an over. But four an over is gold dust in the 20-over format, Afghanistan carry the not unfounded reputation of being terrific players of spin and Varun himself has had a difficult time of it from midway through India’s successful T20 World Cup campaign.
On another night, that would have been a huge talking point. Varun, a late cricketing bloomer who rediscovered his love for the game after completing a degree in architecture and dabbling in movies, is 35, but as of now, there is no discussion yet on what the future holds for the wrist-spinner from Tamil Nadu who was born in Bidar in Karnataka. Varun is largely a one-format international — the last of his four 50-over outings for India came in the final of the Champions Trophy against New Zealand in March 2025 – but he has been spared the microscopic scrutiny that Rohit Sharma has been placed under, even though Varun has spent more time out of action through injury than his former captain.
Also at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the first of three T20Is, Storm Abhishek lashed the national capital. The target was only modest, 157, and the surface held no demons. Yet, there was something compelling about the manner in which Abhishek Sharma set about a high-quality Afghan attack spearheaded by skipper Rashid Khan, with accomplished performers Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi and Noor Ahmad as his co-conspirators.
Abhishek has made a name for himself with his fearless ball-striking and for taking the pitch and the conditions out of the equation. True to his reputation, he tore the Afghan attack to shreds, lashing seven sixes and as many fours as he clattered to 82. It took a fabulous catch from Rashid to cut short the entertainment as the left-hander’s buccaneering salvo ended off the 32nd delivery he faced. His blitzkrieg was the icing on the cake, even though in keeping with cricket’s standing as being a batter’s game, it was on him that the Player of the Match award was conferred.
Was there any other standout contender? Sure — Abhishek’s Punjab teammate, Arshdeep Singh, who finished with grand numbers of three for 19 from his four overs. Pundits talk about the importance of wickets in any form of the game; no one has more wickets for the country in the 20-over game than Arshdeep, whose 140 scalps have come from 93 matches. His economy of 8.51 is slightly lower than the industrial average in an era of flat tracks, small boundaries and bats with oversized sweet spots packed compactly and lightly, which is further enhanced by his propensity to pick up a wicket every 14 deliveries. Arshdeep made a strong claim for the leading individual award, but bowlers have uncomplainingly come to accept that it is their lot to play second fiddle to the more glamorous six-hitters.
Jasprit Bumrah is the second highest wicket-taker for India in the shortest format.
| Photo Credit:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Second to Arshdeep in the T20I wicket-taking stakes for India is our protagonist for the day, the man they call Boom, the man who effortlessly lives up to that nickname. Boom is more appropriate than we think. He arrives like the clap of thunder and bedazzles like a bolt of lightning, transfixing onlookers, winning over connoisseurs who normally frown on the unusual, and destroying toes and egos with a spectacular array of tricks that may no longer be a secret but that still are more than a handful to negotiate.
Hot property
Jasprit Bumrah is unquestionably the hottest property in Indian cricket, maybe even world cricket. He is a rare gem, an unusual amalgam of the quirky and the uber effective, with an action that is unique to him and with the capacity to destroy and decimate that continues to boggle the mind, nearly 11 years after he first donned the India Blue in Sydney in early 2016, in an ODI against Australia. James Anderson, that extraordinary swing exponent, ended his extended career with 704 wickets in Test cricket alone; Bumrah has a grand total of 508 wickets internationally across the three formats, isn’t done playing actively and is yet hailed in various quarters as the greatest complete fast bowler of all time.
Maybe we can put some of that down to recency bias, to the fact that viewers of a certain vintage might not have seen Dennis Lillee and Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh in flesh and blood. Maybe there is something about the unparalleled Bumrah walk-run delivery approach which ends with both arms braced straight, the left knee unbowed, the right-arm well in front of normal, at the point of delivery, that enthralls and enchants everyone else but the hapless batter at the receiving end. Maybe there is something endearing about the lack of histrionics on taking a wicket or a lack of petulance when an appeal is turned down or a catch is shelled, which he literally shrugs off with a pronounced twitch before he whirls around and walks back to the top of his bowling mark.
Or maybe, it is just the sheer joy of watching a master craftsman at work, a craftsman who was dismissed as a disaster waiting to happen mainly because of the strain his action put on his body – the back and the lower back, the knees, the ankles, the heel, the right shoulder….
Jasprit Bumrah has a tally of 508 international scalps.
| Photo Credit:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
When Bumrah broke through, all arms and legs and raw as raw can be, at the SCG with the scalps of Steve Smith and James Faulkner on his way to figures of two for 40 from his ten overs to help India arrest a four-match losing streak, no one was quite sure what to make of this precious talent. He had already played two seasons of the IPL by then, handpicked by former India coach John Wright who was also in a talent-scouting capacity at the time for Mumbai Indians, his threat quotient was very, very high, but how long would he survive with that action?
Dalliances with injuries
Long enough, it has turned out. Bumrah has had his dalliances with injuries — very few fast bowlers, even with the smoothest of actions, have avoided that fate — and gone under the surgeon’s knife more than once, but he is still around, still menacing, still a game-changer, still the man to watch out for. And if that isn’t a tribute to his resilience and his competitive spirit, then nothing else will be.
Sunday was also Bumrah’s return to the international fold, like it was for Varun. The 32-year-old didn’t set the Yamuna afire, but there were more than enough indications that Bumrah is anything but a spent force, that he is as driven as ever, and that anyone foolish anyone to brand him a ‘part-time cricketer’ does so with the genuine danger of ending up with plenty of egg on their faces.
Bumrah’s last competitive fixture before Sunday was on July 16, in the second of three ODIs against England in Cardiff when he picked up an impact knee injury. It was serious enough to keep him not just out of the final ODI at Lord’s but also the two-Test series in Sri Lanka last month. Those tasked with these responsibilities have historically handled Bumrah’s rehabilitation and return to play with care and circumspection, if not conservatism. After all, he is too special to be lost forever if he is rushed back in when still not 100% ready. Some might view this as extreme, perceiving that Bumrah is the recipient of special treatment, but even if that were the case, should we really be quibbling?
Sporadic appearances
Shubman Gill, India’s Test skipper for the last 15 months, has pretty much reconciled to life with Bumrah only sporadically making an appearance. He has had to make do without his lead bowler in five of the 11 Tests — including the last three — that he has been in charge of, a compromise that is inevitable because Bumrah needs to be managed carefully. Gill understands better than anyone else that India are better off with Bumrah playing only 50% of the Tests than Bumrah not playing at all; it’s a trade-off he has come to accept with equanimity, hoping for Mohammed Siraj to step up in the spearhead’s absence (which the Hyderabadi has done admirably, let’s be honest) and for Prasidh Krishna to continue to progress like he has in the last year.
India’s approach is clear – to keep Bumrah fit and ready for the really important assignments (not that there are any unimportant matches at the highest level, but you get the point, right?). Towards that end, the Afghanistan series is important for him to get into match rhythm ahead of the Asian Games, where full-strength India will seek to defend their gold medal later this month in Japan. They may not fuss too much over Bumrah’s presence in the home T20Is against West Indies and in New Zealand in October, but Bumrah will very much be part of their plans when the ODIs come around in New Zealand before the two Test matches which have assumed greater significance with India’s World Test Championship aspirations hanging on tenuously.
It’s almost certain, no matter how India’s last overseas outing in this WTC cycle goes, that Bumrah won’t play in all of the five home Tests against Australia beginning in January.
The ultimate goal will be to ensure that he is fully charged up and ready to fire on all cylinders at the 50-over World Cup next October in southern Africa, where Gill’s India will hope to end a 16-year wait and wrap their hands around what is still the most coveted piece of silverware in the cricketing firmament. Three years ago, they seemed on course to repeat their home heroics of 2011 until falling short at the final hurdle, against Pat Cummins’ Australia.
Next year will in all probability be Bumrah’s final shot at the 50-over World Cup, and he will be desperate to add that winner’s medal to the two T20 World Cup titles that he has influenced immensely. Now, how fulfilling would that be if he could reach that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in the Rainbow Nation.