“What I can tell you something about Jasprit Bumrah, I’m a big fan — ever since I saw him for the first time,” said Ambrose in an interview with PTI.”He’s so unconventional but highly effective, and that’s what I like about him. When you look at traditional fast bowlers, you wouldn’t look at Bumrah, he’s so unorthodox.”
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At 30 years old, Bumrah possesses the ability to take wickets at any stage of a limited-over match. In Test cricket, he is equally effective with both the new and old ball, particularly when the ball starts to reverse swing.
Widely considered the best all-format pacer in the game currently, Bumrah has encountered his share of back issues and underwent surgery in March of the previous year. Following an extensive rehabilitation period, he made his comeback prior to the ODI World Cup in India in November and has been in top form since then.
Ambrose emphasized that Bumrah should maintain his current approach and technique, making no alterations to his bowling style.
“He has done a great job for India and still doing a great job in all formats. I met him a couple of years ago when India played in Antigua. He’s someone I’ve always enjoyed watching because he’s so different,” said Ambrose, part of promotions for the T20 World Cup being jointly hosted by the US and the West Indies.
Bumrah’s unique bowling action, with his chest open at the point of delivery, can potentially put extra strain on his back. However, Ambrose believes that every pace bowler has to cope with certain risks associated with their craft.
“From my little experience, there are no two bowlers who are exactly alike. Bowlers may have similarities but they are never exactly alike and we all have our different styles everyone is different. In terms of his longevity, in terms of injuries, (for) every fast bowler, there is always risk of being injured. But at the same time you can’t go out there thinking that wa,” said the 60-year-old Ambrose.
“You’ve got to go out there and do the job to the best of your ability and whatever happens, happens. The only way he should change is if he, may be, sustains a serious injury or has to re-model his action or something,” said the legendary pacer, who featured in 98 Tests for the West Indies and took 405 wickets.
Ambrose, a towering figure at 6 feet 7 inches, consistently challenged the world’s elite batsmen with his ability to generate extra bounce. However, he doesn’t attribute the strain on Bumrah’s back solely to his bowling action.
“I’ve never been through it (stress fracture). So it would be unfair for me to even try to say what to do. I will leave that for the medical expert. I don’t think Bumrah’s stress comes totally from his action.
“You can look at Ian Bishop, he had a perfect action and he also had stress fracture,” reasoned the cricketer from Antigua.
Ambrose warns about burn-out
The global cricket schedule is more packed than it has ever been, with numerous T20 leagues across the globe occupying a significant portion of the calendar. Ambrose recognized the substantial changes the sport has undergone and the detrimental effects of an overloaded itinerary.
“The game has become a bit more commercialised. Too much cricket is being played as well. Players are leaving from one series to the next, there is franchise cricket as well. Guys could get burnt out,” he said.
“It’s still exciting. There are wonderful players around but too much cricket is being played and that to me would be a bit of a concern.”
Test cricket creates legends
Ambrose, who hails from Antigua, participated extensively in limited-overs cricket throughout his career. However, he firmly believes that Test cricket is the only format that produces legends.
“I’ve always preferred Test match cricket over anything else. I’ve played ODIs, I’ve played four-day cricket, but for me it isn’t international cricket. Test match cricket for me is a real cricket.
“I believe at the end of a career, if you’ve been judged, if you want to become a legend, you have to play Test cricket. You would not become a legend playing ODIs or T20s. There is talk about Tests dying, I don’t really think so.
“…the powers that be, need to do something to make Test match cricket a little more attractive and we’re going to be okay. But Test match cricket is not going anywhere,” he asserted.
Ambrose dominated the cricketing world during the 1990s, cherishing his duels with legendary batsmen such as Sachin Tendulkar. If he were playing in the current era, the formidable bowler would have eagerly embraced the challenge of bowling to the contemporary greats of the game like Virat Kohli.
“When I played, I thrived on challenges. In every team, there were at least a handful of great batsmen. And you know, with a reputation as well. So for me, they tend to bring the best out of me when I play.
“To dismiss them gives me more pleasure than dismissing numbers 9, 10, 11. You talk about these guys, they are great players (Kohli & Co). It would be nice to play against them but having said that, I’ve played against some greats in my time as well,” he said.
Highlighting the increasing competitiveness of the sport at the international level, Ambrose expressed happiness with the performance of teams like USA and Afghanistan.
“Well, prior to the start of the World Cup, I predicted some upsets and so far we’ve seen a few. So, I am quite happy for that, it makes the tournament more interesting as opposed to all of the big teams just running away,” he said.
