The Game Changing Power of Jasprit Bumrah

Imagine having Jasprit Bumrah at your beck and call as a Test captain. This translates to having constant access to a match-turning element. You can come back in each game, anytime. It's like having an ace up your sleeve. It alludes to having a superpower to switch the game's momentum at will. The game never truly ends until you've played your Bumrah card.

Perth Stadium was where Jasprit Bumrah discovered this for himself. Even when he shrugged off questions directed towards this viewpoint with a sweet-toned "I can't answer that!".

For example, consider what unfolded on a Monday afternoon. Bumrah played his own card, showcasing the elegant luxury a captain possesses with him in the team. Travis Head, with his signature style, managed to disrupt India's marching glory, though not deflating it outright. The opposer stretched the Indian bowlers in the grueling heat of Perth longer than anticipated. That's when Bumrah decided to make his move.

Foreknowledge of his opponent's strategy was a strength. He'd predetermined the method of dismissal and the exact timing of execution.

From then onwards, it was all strategy and wit. His aggressive tactics managed to dispel the final resistance of the opposing team, extinguishing any chances to prolong the Test till Day 5.

Bumrah's response to this, sincere in its modesty, was "Whenever we needed to do something, I was trying to put myself in that tough scenario to make the job a little bit easier for the new guys coming in."

Bumrah thrives on challenges. He proved this on the first day of a five-match Test series when the team was down 150 after batting first on a challenging pitch. Bumrah used himself and took down the Australian batting line-up, setting his team on a solid path. His discerning prowess identified crucial individual battles that could impact the series' fate, dealing with players like Steve Smith off the first ball and potentially taking out Marnus Labuschagne early too.