WTC Final: Selectors Picked Jasprit Bumrah Because Of His Reputation, Not On Current Form – Saba Karim

Former India wicketkeeper and national selector Saba Karim recently made a bold statement regarding India pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Karim said that the selectors only picked Jasprit Bumrah because of his reputation instead of his current form in the World Test Championship Final (WTC) against New Zealand.

Notably, Bumrah remained wicket-less as India lost the WTC final against New Zealand by eight wickets to miss out on the elusive title. The India pacer was not in form in the WTC final and failed to make the most of the swing on offer in Southampton during New Zealand’s first innings where he struggled to find a breakthrough. He remained wicketless in the second innings too.

“I feel the selectors did not pay attention to the current form and went on with reputation to a certain extent. Jasprit Bumrah has not played red-ball cricket since he got injured in Australia,” Karim told India News.

“He has only played white-ball cricket and that too only the T20s. He did not play in the home series against England. I felt he was woefully out of form and along with that out of practice if we talk about red-ball cricket,” added Bumrah.

However, Karim is wrong in his assessment about Bumrah not featuring in red-ball cricket after the Australia series. Bumrah played the first Test against England in Chennai during India’s home series and picked up four wickets in the match. He also played the third Test in Ahmedabad where he didn’t get to bowl much and was wicket-less before taking a break for his wedding with Sanjana Ganesan.

However, Karim felt that Bumrah was getting back to his rhythm during New Zealand’s second innings of the WTC final when he had a catch dropped off his bowling.

“To a certain extent, I felt he was getting back his rhythm in the second innings spell he bowled; he was also unlucky at times. But in the end, he couldn’t catch the length that is required in red-ball cricket, especially in conducive conditions, in the entire Test match. I feel this is a very big area of concern and it is required to rectify this in the upcoming series,” said Karim.

India will play a five-match Test series against England, starting from August 4.