For me, Test cricket is at the paramount level: Jasprit Bumrah

The Indian pace battery that travelled to England was touted as the best ever for the visiting side as it had ticked all the boxes. However, by the end of the ODI series, Team India had lost their two premier bowlers – Jasprit Bumrah to a thumb injury and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to back strain. While there is doubt about Bhuvneshwar’s participation in the five-match Test series having already been ruled out of the first three matches, Bumrah will be available for selection from the second game.

Despite the injury, the 24-year-old was included in the 18-man squad and has been training with the team. He even resumed bowling in the nets ahead of the first Test and the rehab looks to be pretty much on track for his timely return. Bumrah hasn’t played a Test at home, he made his debut in South Africa and was expected to play a key part against the Brits as well.

Talking about his Test aspirations the pacer said, “I always wanted to play Test cricket. My longtime dream was to play Tests. I was happy when I finally got to play it in South Africa,” he was quoted by Mumbai Indians official website.

He needed some time to get used to the red ball but towards the end of the South Africa tour emerged as a potent wicket-taking option for Virat Kohli both with the new and old ball.

“The start also went well. I always loved Test cricket and I rate it very highly. I enjoy playing each and every format but for me, Test cricket is at the paramount level because I feel everything is tested at that level,” Bumrah said.

Transition from white ball to red ball

“For me basically, I like to keep things simple. Not to complicate things because as you play a lot more, you tend to complicate things.”

“So, what I try to do is — keep things simple. As a bowler, I know what my strengths are. If I know that I’m very accurate, I will try to focus on it. I always believe that if I’m backing my strength, I’ll be able to do well be it in India or in any other country,” he added.

As far as his plans are concerned it is never based on specific tours as he likes to keep things simple and take it one day at a time. “I never plan according to the tour or I don’t have any personal goals. I take it one day at a time. If there’s a practice session, I just focus on the practice session,” Bumrah mentioned.

Things in good shape leading into the World Cup

As the World Cup 2019 is fast approaching, the fast bowler thinks Team India has the right kind of setup in place and are really going grate as a unit. This team in his view focuses more on what they collectively want to achieve more than individuals targeting personal milestones.

“The team, as a unit, is very close. Everybody is really happy. Everybody is enjoying each other’s success. There is no jealousy. Everybody is happy when the team is doing well. We’ve done well in the past two-three years. There are no individual goals that a specific player wants to achieve. It’s a team goal. The team is shaping up really well for the World Cup too,” he stated.

For all the latest cricket news and other updates follow CricTracker.