Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah backed Mukesh Kumar after the latter had a poor performance on Day 2 of the second Test against England. Playing in only his third Test, Mukesh Kumar struggled with consistency and he conceded 44 runs from his seven overs as well. Coming in for Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh bowled in four separate spells but proved expensive each time as well.
Speaking at the press conference after the second day’s play, Bumrah backed Mukesh. He said, “Can happen to anyone because he’s just starting to play international cricket. He’s just starting to play Test cricket. Obviously, we have a lot of confidence in him. This is a long series. Obviously, you have to rotate players. But obviously, you always learn by making mistakes. You get better than making mistakes. So that’s how cricket is. It gives you the answer to the questions. So that’s how it is. I don’t look at it as a bad day. It’s just a learning day. Everybody’s made mistakes. Even I made mistakes.”
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However, Mukesh Kumar was a vital cog in Team India’s recent win against South Africa in Cape Town, claiming two wickets in each innings as well. He made his debut for team India in the longer format against the West Indies last July, grabbing two wickets as well. Jasprit Bumrah also said to Mukesh Kumar that he needs to forget about his bowling on Day 2 as a thing of the past and focus on improving in the future as well.
“That is the conversation that we’ll have that okay, that day has passed. Now we move forward now. You can’t change whatever has happened in the past. Focus on what we can do better. What are the things that he’s thinking. So all these conversations we keep on having and trying to give our best. As I said, that it’s a long series, we have a few fast bowlers and you have to rotate bowlers because this is a five-match series. You want everyone to be fresh. It’s going to be an interesting series. So that is why I feel that the rotation theory was there,” concluded Jasprit Bumrah.
