Jasprit Bumrah asked to fill the form for Arjuna Award; but he's not in the list of recommendations

Jasprit Bumrah is one of the most consistent fast bowlers India has ever produced. In his short international career of four years, Bumrah has already entered in the league of legends like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. However, the pacer hasn’t been bestowed with any kind of national recognition for his contribution to Indian cricket.

Reports suggest that Bumrah has been filing the form for Arjuna Award for past two years but hasn’t received the prestigious honour yet. Though BCCI recommended his name along with three Indian cricketers Poonam Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami last year, he was not awarded. Instead, Poonam and Jadeja were given the honour.

This year too the authorities asked him to fill the form. However, reportedly, the Board recommended only three names including Ishant Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Deepti Sharma for the Arjuna Award. While, on the other hand, Rohit Sharma’s name has been recommended for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.

Speaking on the same issue, a source told Sportskeeda, “Surprisingly, Jasprit Bumrah is not in the mix. When there is no intention of honouring the candidate, why should that cricketer be told to fill the Arjuna Award while nominating names.”

There is no recognition for Jasprit Bumrah

The source further added, “Jasprit Bumrah has been doing so much for the country for the last four years or so. And yet, there is no recognition from anyone. Of course, Ishant Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are seniors, but you can’t be recommending names for the sake of it. The board should also ensure that their names are taken seriously by the concerned screening committee.”

Since his debut in 2016, Bumrah has played 64 ODI matches and 20 T20 games taking 104 and 59 wickets respectively. The 26-year-old has been brutal in his approach towards the longest format of the game. In the 14 Test matches he has played, Jasprit has managed to pick 68 scalps at an average of 20.3 and economy 2.69. The pacer also ranks second in the ICC’s ODI bowlers list. He was also awarded with the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award (2018-19).