The premier Indian pacer, Jasprit Bumrahwas about to make a comeback to competitive cricket, but he now has to wait for long due to “over restriction mandate” from the team management but Gujarat fast bowlers were on fire against Kerala on a day when all 20 wickets fell in the group A Ranji Trophy encounter.
After being dismissed for 127 in their first innings, Gujarat bowlers led by Rush Kalaria (4 wickets) and Axar Patel (3 wickets) went through the Kerala batsmen as the team was bundled out for 70 thereby taking a 57-run first-innings lead. Gujarat was one for no loss when stumps were drawn.
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The primary attraction of this game at the Lalabhai Contractor Stadium was Jasprit Bumrah’s presence which also brought chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad, in the city. However, the Indian team’s support staff’s unofficial guideline that Bumrah “shouldn’t be bowling more than 8 to 9 overs” didn’t amuse the Gujarat team management which wants to win a match.
It was learned that once BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah were intimated, it was decided that Bumrah will continue with his training directly play the Sri Lanka T20 series as there is no red-ball cricket before Test matches in New Zealand.
Talking about the same, a senior BCCI official said, “Gujarat team management is absolutely right. Once a player is on the field, how can a captain not bowl him if his team is in trouble? You can’t earmark a specific number of overs. It hampers the team balance when they are trying to win a game.”
On a track that offered significant turn, Gujarat was bundled out in 38 overs with opener Kathan D Patel (36) and senior player Piyush Chawla (32). Saxena took 5 for 26 in 13 overs while KM Asif (2/23) also chipped in with a couple of wickets.
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However, when Kerala came out to bat, they fared even worse as eight of their batsmen couldn’t reach double figures save Uthappa. Kalaria (4/20) and fellow seamer Chintan Gaja (2/17) did bulk of the damage apart from India international Axar, who also had figures of 3 for 11.
