Dont Want To Get My Match Fees Deducted:Jasprit Bumrah Breaks Silence On Ball-Change Controversy With A Cheeky Take
India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah offered a humorous response when asked about the ball-change controversy that unfolded on Day 2 of the third Test against England at Lord’s. The issue with the Dukes ball has been at the center of attention during the ongoing series, and Bumrah made sure to keep things light when questioned about it.
During the post-day press conference, Bumrah anticipated a query regarding the repeated ball changes and was prepared with a clever answer.
“The ball changes, I don’t really control that. Obviously, I don’t want to lose out on money because I work very hard and bowl a lot of overs. I don’t want to give any controversial statements and get my match fees deducted. But, we were bowling with the ball that we were given. That’s how it is. We can’t change it. We can’t fight it. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes you get a bad ball,” said Bumrah.
Controversy About
The controversy erupted after the second new ball was changed only 10.3 overs into use, with India expressing dissatisfaction over the replacement. The new ball was also replaced shortly after, adding fuel to ongoing concerns about the quality and durability of the Dukes ball.
Despite these challenges and some inconsistent fielding from India, the team managed to bowl England out for 387. Bumrah stood out with a superb performance, taking 5 wickets for 74 runs across 27 overs.
Reflecting on the condition of the Dukes ball, Bumrah shared his experience from previous tours of England. Without being overly critical, he noted that such ball issues had not been encountered during his earlier visits.
“In 2018, when I had come here, the Dukes ball was consistently swinging and I was bowling the outswinger. I had consistently started bowling it here. The ball was moving around a lot more. When I played here earlier, the balls were not changed. They used to remain hard. It’s dry summer and the wickets are hard, so the ball is going soft. I don’t remember changing the Dukes ball earlier. That is definitely different this time. When the ball goes soft, it is easy for batting,” Bumrah explained.
He also mentioned that he did not recall any ball-change issues during his past England tours in 2018 and 2021 or in the two World Test Championship finals he played. Jasprit Bumrah holds the record for the most five-wicket hauls by an Indian bowler in away Test matches, with an incredible 13 such performances. Bumrah has taken four five-wicket hauls each in England and Australia, three in South Africa, and two apiece in India and the West Indies. His latest fifer was in the first innings of Lord’s Test and he would like to take more five scalps to his name in the toughest format and testing conditions.
