‘Both Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni give bowlers the field they want’ - Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah missed doing what he loves the most — playing for India — for the last four months of 2019. The ace paceman has been out because of lower back stress but is set to make a comeback in the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka starting Sunday.

The last time Bumrah represented India was in August when he took a hat-trick against the West Indies in an away Test series. The 26-year-old was recently picked by Wisden along with India captain Virat Kohli for the T20I team of the decade.

Speaking to Hindustan Times on the eve of the first match in Guwahati, Bumrah said Kohli and his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni are similar as captains when it comes to the idea of the players taking ownership. He said both give the bowler the field he wants, the help he needs and then the responsibility for his own bowling lies with bowler. Bumrah had made his international debut under Dhoni in Australia in 2016 when he played in ODIs and T20Is.

Jasprit Bumrah prefers Tests over ODIs and T20Is

“Both of them are pretty similar in the way that they want you to take ownership. They give you the field you want, the help you need. You take responsibility for your own bowling,” Bumrah was quoted as saying. Bumrah also added that he prefers playing Tests over the limited-over formats.

“My first one-day wicket is Steve Smith. There’s no particular way that you get a batsman out. You study what the wicket is doing, then select the best option. What I look to do against any good batsman, is to have patience,” Bumrah said when he was asked how to dismiss Steve Smith, who he will be bowling to in an ODI series following the T20I series versus Lanka.

When asked about his rivalry with other reputed fast bowlers of these times– Jofra Archer and Pat Cummins — Jasprit Bumrah said he is not one who gets jealous of others and enjoys his own bowling. “I don’t look at it that way, no. I enjoy fast bowling. I am not the kind of guy who will get jealous. If good fast bowling is happening, I will always watch and I will have fun. Even if somebody is bowling really well against us,” he said.

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