Mitchell McClenaghan expects Jasprit Bumrah to perform well in the third Test

Indian fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah’s potentials in white-ball cricket is well-known to cricket fans. There is little doubt on his abilities in limited-overs cricket, from where he progressed into Test cricket earlier this year, on India’s tour of South Africa. During his first ever Test series, the speedster claimed a five-wicket haul in the game which India won by 63 runs.

India lost the three-match rubber to South Africa by 2-1, but the 24-year-old made a name for himself by claiming 14 wickets in his maiden Test series. He was left out of India’s limited-overs series against England last month due to a thumb injury but is now back in the Test squad for the third Test. New Zealand pacer Mitchell McClenaghan, who is Bumrah’s teammate in the Mumbai Indians team in the IPL, is confident that the youngster will deliver in the third Test if he is picked.

The Mumbai Indians connection

The Kiwi pacer recalled his association with Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian T20 extravaganza and went on to say that there was no question about his red-ball credentials. He also felt that the bowler with a different action compared to others loves to play in whites for his country more than anything and termed his bowling as absolute class.

“Having spent the last four years with Bumrah, watching him in the nets and seeing the skills he possesses, it was never a question of ‘if’ Jasprit would play Test cricket but a question of ‘how many?’. Bumrah is class, pure and simple,” McClenaghan quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

“I don’t think there will be any issue with his transition to the longer format and knowing Bumrah well, he’ll be doing everything he can to consistently play Tests, he absolutely loves that format. The tricky part will be making a transition from white ball to the red ball quickly as there is not a lot of gap between formats and the skills are generally quite different,” he added.

India lost the first two Tests by 31 runs and an innings and 159 runs respectively, and a loss in the third Test, too, will mean losing the series. Bumrah’s inclusion in the side will bolster their bowling but their batsmen have to put up runs on the board first. It will be interesting to see how the Indian pacers perform with the Dukes ball in the series-deciding third Test.

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