Bumrah's strategic shift aligns with Gambhir's philosophy: Former India assistant coach Nayar

New Delhi [India], October 28 (ANI): Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar believes it would be "compelling" to see how pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's bowling responsibilities are managed by captain Suryakumar Yadav in the upcoming five-match T20I series in Australia.

Bumrah, deemed to be the "world's best", travelled with India for the white-ball tour of Australia and will solely feature in the five-match T20I series. He was excluded from the three ODIs, a decision driven by his workload management. In the five T20Is in Australia, all eyes will be on how India uses Bumrah, especially after India's unbeaten run to the Asia Cup title last month.

For the majority of the tournament, the 31-year-old bowled three overs during the powerplay and returned for his last in the death. Under the new approach, Bumrah finished with seven wickets in five matches at an average of 19.28. For Nayar, the strategy around Bumrah aligns with captain Suryakumar's focus on early breakthroughs and head coach Gautam Gambhir's ideology of aggressive wicket-taking.

"In this current T20I configuration, we're witnessing Bumrah embrace a completely transformed role where he's now bowling three overs during the initial Powerplay phase. This strategic shift directly aligns with Captain Suryakumar Yadav's emphasis on early breakthroughs and Coach Gautam Gambhir's philosophy of aggressive wicket-taking. The team management is clearly utilising him in a very distinctive manner," Nayar said on JioHotstar.

"This approach will be particularly fascinating to observe in Australian conditions, especially given their formidable batting depth in the lower order. It will be compelling to see how his bowling responsibilities are managed, though I have absolutely no doubt that he remains tremendously motivated to deliver something exceptional on Australian soil," he added.

When Bumrah last toured Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he scythed a record-shattering 32 scalps to top the wicket-taking charts at an average of 13.06. While citing Bumrah's past exploits, Nayar stated that delivering the goods in Australia is the "ultimate stamp" of approval for any cricketer.

"I distinctly remember from our Border-Gavaskar Trophy experiences that Jasprit Bumrah has always demonstrated an extraordinary determination to excel in Australian conditions. There's something uniquely validating about performing well there," he said.

"It represents the ultimate stamp of approval for any cricketer, achieving success against world-class opposition in conditions that are fundamentally different from what we experience in India. No matter what accomplishments a player has already achieved, Australia always presents that special challenge where everyone wants to prove themselves to the world," Nayar concluded.

India's T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar. (ANI)

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