Cliff Notes – Bumrah confident India can take down ‘ultra-aggressive’ England
- Jasprit Bumrah expresses eagerness to bowl with the Dukes ball in England, highlighting the unique challenges of swinging conditions.
- The experienced pacer aims to manage his workload during the five-Test series, acknowledging the need for selective participation amid a busy schedule.
- Bumrah believes India’s bowling unit can exploit England’s aggressive batting style, confident in their ability to take wickets in challenging conditions.
Bumrah confident India can take down ‘ultra-aggressive’ England
Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s No. 1 Test bowler, is keen to get his hands on the Dukes ball and play in swinging conditions during India’s upcoming tour of England, which starts with a warm-up game from June 13 to 16 followed by the first Test in Leeds from June 20 to 24.
“Playing in England is always a different challenge,” Bumrah told former Australia captain Michael Clarke on the Beyond23 YouTube channel. “I always love bowling with the Dukes ball.
“But I don’t know how much the Dukes ball is doing right now because there’s always constant changes to the ball. But the weather, the swinging conditions. And then when the ball becomes soft, there’s always a challenge. So I always look forward to playing in England.”
This will be Bumrah’s third bilateral Test series in England – he also played the World Test Championship final there, against New Zealand. His previous eight away Tests against England have brought him 37 wickets at an average of 23.78. He is the most experienced member of an India pace pack that also includes Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh; he felt all of them have the ability to run through oppositions, especially when they bat aggressively like England do.
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“Now, I’ve heard there’s Olympics in cricket coming as well, so that is something I’m really looking forward to. Who would have thought cricket would become an Olympic sport? So, yeah, that’s something that excites me”
“They’re playing an interesting style of cricket which is interesting because I don’t really understand it too much,” Bumrah said. “But as a bowling unit, we always feel confident that when the batters are being ultra-aggressive, on a given day, anybody could run through and get wickets.”
The five Tests in England will be played over 46 days from June 20 to August 4, in Leeds, Birmingham, Lord’s, Manchester and The Oval. Bumrah is unlikely to feature in all five Tests, though, with chief selector Ajit Agarkar having indicated that his worload may need to be closely managed.
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With India set for a packed next nine months, which include a T20 World Cup in February 2026, Bumrah said he would play all three formats but pick and choose his games to keep his body fresh.
“Obviously, it is tough for any individual to keep playing everything for so long,” he said. “I’ve been doing it for a while, but eventually you have to understand where your body is going, what is the important tournament.
“You have to be a little selective and smart about how you use your body. As a cricketer, I would never want to leave anything and always keep on going. But I don’t set goals or look at numbers. Whenever I have [set goals], I’ve never been able to fulfil them.
“I just try and enjoy because that’s why I started [playing] this sport. Take one day at a time and collect memories because, at the end of the [career in] sport, that’s all I’ll remember.”