India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel added fuel to the fire by defending the use of Jasprit Bumrah’s three-over burst inside the powerplay, instead of saving him for the death and middle overs.
Bumrah is arguably the best all-format bowler in world cricket and has been India’s fourth leading wicket-taker in T20I cricket, with 94 scalps to his name in 73 innings.
The 31-year-old returned to India’s T20 set-up for the Asia Cup 2025 since India’s 2024 T20 World Cup triumph. Playing under Suryakumar Yadav’s leadership for the first time, the pacer has been bowling three-over spells inside the powerplay and remaining one in the death, a significant change from India’s game plan during the last T20 World Cup.
However, the strategy was slammed by Mohammed Kaif, who claimed that it wouldn’t benefit India against the strong teams like England, Australia, or South Africa. But Morkel had a different point of view towards it.
“Bumrah under Rohit would generally bowl overs 1, 13, 17, 19. Under Surya, in the Asia Cup, he bowled a three-over spell at the start. To avoid injury, Bumrah these days prefers to bowl while his body is warmed up. 1 over of Bumrah in the remaining 14 overs is a huge relief for batters against stronger teams at the World Cup; this could hurt India,” wrote Mohammad Kaif on his X handle.
Under former skipper Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, Bumrah used to bowl just one over, a maximum of two, upfront, while remaining overs of his quota spread out in middle and death overs. The strategy worked for India during their successful 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, where Bumrah was named Player of the Tournament. He emerged as the third leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 15 scalps in eight matches, averaging an exceptional 8.26 and a staggering economy rate of 4.17.
Bumrah reacted to this with a tweet by saying that the former cricketer was inaccurate with his analysis.
Speaking after the Super Over win against Sri Lanka, the India bowling coach said that they’re aiming for a wicket early on, and Bumrah bowling in the powerplay would give India the best chance to do it.
“Look, it’s obviously a tough job to bowl in the powerplay, but Jasprit is one of the best bowlers. And, with the new ball, obviously, we’re looking to take a wicket. I think if you can get 10 down, or 6-7 down before the last ball, you make life a lot easier for you, and on the surface, the wicket is playing a certain way. Sort of the plan, and it’s no secret that with spin after the power play. So what a great opportunity for the best bowler to strike for us up front,” said Morkel.
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Morkel emphasised that the key to success in the T20 format is to take wickets, and India are trying to do it.
“We know the number one rule or the golden rule in T20 cricket is to take wickets, and if we can do that by using one of our best bowlers, and for us to strike upfront. That might change according to what we feel will be best in the day. But yeah, we just felt that it’s a nice opportunity to give him that role to try and strike for us up front,” said Morkel.
Bumrah has taken five wickets in four matches at 7.33 rpo so far in the Asia Cup 2025. He was rested for the respective last group stage and Super Fours clashes against Oman and Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, India have dominated the group stage and Super Fours stages, winning all their fixtures so far. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side will now lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan in the summit clash on Sunday (September 28). Notably, India have defeated Pakistan twice in their previous meeting in the ongoing tournament so far.
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