Communication is always there when I and Shami bowl in tandem: Jasprit Bumrah

India’s 10-wicket victory against England on July 12 was majorly achieved because of the pacer’s performance in the first innings after India won the toss and skipper Rohit Sharma elected to bowl first. The partnership between Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami worked wonders for the Men in Blue, and the former believes that communication is the key to their successful performances.

Bumrah and Shami shared nine wickets between them, with the former bagging a six-wicket haul and the latter picking three in his course. Apart from the nine wickets, the tenth one was taken by Prasidh Krishna, a pacer again. It was clearly a memorable day for the fast bowlers. England was crushed for 110 runs and in reply, Indian openers chased down the score to win the game without losing a wicket.

“Communication is always there when I and Shami bowl in tandem. We started talking today, and we realized that the ball was swinging today, he is an experienced bowler. When a pair compliments one another, it is a very good thing. He is a very skillful bowler and he has been playing for India for a very long time. I enjoy bowling with him. We keep on having conversations in the middle, he is a very skillful bowler,” Bumrah said in a press conference post the first ODI.

It is important that there is a true wicket so that every player is in the game: Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah was in and out of the game during the T20I series, and Shami was not a part of the T20I squad. But India walked into the ODI series with a full-strength squad. Both Bumrah and Shami have been important aspects of India’s bowling lineup, and the experience that they bring into the scene contributes to the game really well.

“It is important that there is a true wicket so that every player is in the game and there is a fair competition and in the end, it becomes a matter of skill. When the ball was getting soft, it was getting easier to bat. But we got wickets with the new ball and it worked out well for us,” he added.

India will next face England on Thursday, July 14, at the Lord’s Cricket Ground for the second ODI of the three-match series with an advantage of a 1-0 lead.