Bharat Arun reveals the reason why Bumrah didn't play Sri Lanka Tests

Jasprit Bumrah has been no less than revelation on India’s current visit to South Africa. He made his debut in the Test series which surprised everyone at the start but justified his inclusion in the side with some stellar performances with the ball. Also in the ongoing One-Day International series, he has managed to keep a lid on the opposition batsmen in the powerplay. But there were doubts about the fact of Bumrah not being unleashed in the relatively easy home series against Sri Lanka which would have given him time to settled down in whites.

Bumrah picked a stunning five-wicket haul in the third and final Test which India won famously. However, he took some time to settle in the first two matches of the series. The Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun has revealed the reason of the pacer not playing the three-match series against Sri Lanka at home.

Bumrah was in the plans for South Africa

Bharat Arun, while speaking to the reporters on the eve of the fourth ODI, cleared that Jasprit Bumrah was in their plans for a long time and they made a conscious effort to keep him away from Sri Lanka Tests. “We had made a conscious decision that we will play Bumrah in South Africa. So, we deliberately kept him out of the Test matches against Sri Lanka,” he said.

Bharat also informed that the bowler was at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) preparing for the upcoming workload on South Africa tour. “He was at the NCA working on his fitness and strength because we knew the workload in South Africa is going to be pretty high. So we prepared him accordingly and I think he was the pick of the bowlers,” the bowling coach added with a smile after the plan worked out for the team management perfectly.

Even in the ongoing ODI series, Bumrah is going great guns and has picked an early wicket which has made life easy for the wrist spinners to dominate in the middle overs.

Keep following CricTracker for more news and updates.