Jasprit Bumrah was the Player of the Match for India in Perth Test© AFP
Unarguably the No. 1 pacer in the world, Jasprit Bumrah has wreaked havoc with the ball in Australia, sending chills down batters’ spine with the red cherry in his hand. Courtesy of Bumrah’s superlative show in Perth, India are already 1-0 up against Australia in the 5-match series. Learning from Australia’s mistakes and Bumrah’s abilities, former England captain Michael Vaughan has come up with a ‘simple’ plan to counter the Indian pace icon. Vaughan wants the England team to be prepared for Bumrah ahead of their 2025 tour.
England are scheduled to travel India for a long series, comprising of 5 Tests, 5 T20Is and three ODIs. With Bumrah a vital player for India in all three formats, Vaughan wants England to make some simple changes in their batting unit.
“I think that simple swap is perfect for the year England have coming up. In one Test in Australia, I’ve seen live why England need another left-hander in the top three. Jasprit Bumrah fizzily arcs the ball into the right-hander’s pads with the brand new ball, and caused absolute carnage for the likes of Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith. Left-handers are better suited to facing Bumrah,” Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
“It would be handy to have Stokes at No 3 in Australia, too, because the extra left-hander might tempt Australia to use Nathan Lyon earlier, which in turn means the quicks are not bowling in the short window that the ball swings,” he added.
Stokes was crucial to England’s victory against New Zealand in the first Test, which concluded on Sunday. However, the England skipper batted at the No. 7 spot for the team, scoring 80 runs off 146 deliveries. But, when the England team tours India next year, Vaughan wants the all-rounder to take up a much-advanced role in the batting order.
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