Frustrated Bumrah Says India Will Benefit from Australia Defeat

AFP/APP

Sydney: Stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah expressed frustration after missing the crunch finale of India’s Test series against Australia, but he was still optimistic about his team’s future despite the 3-1 series defeat.

The star bowler, who had been instrumental throughout the series, suffered a back niggle during the fifth Test in Sydney on Saturday and underwent scans, ultimately being sidelined as Australia chased down 162 to win.

Bumrah, who took 32 wickets at an impressive average of 13.02 and was named player of the series, admitted that his absence was a significant setback for India’s hopes of retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

“A little frustrating, but sometimes you have to respect your body. You can’t fight your body,” he said after India’s six-wicket loss. “It’s disappointing that I missed out on the spiciest wicket of the series, but that’s the way it is. I felt some discomfort during my second spell in the first innings.”

India’s coach, Gautam Gambhir, stated it was too early to determine the extent of Bumrah’s injury. “The medical team is working on it,” Gambhir said, praising Bumrah’s overall performance. “Absolutely outstanding. He led the attack really well, bowled a lot of overs, and did a fabulous job whenever he was out there.”

Although Bumrah’s absence was felt, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna led the attack on Sunday, but it was not enough to prevent India from losing the match.

‘A Lot of Talent’

Despite the defeat, Bumrah pointed out the positives for India, highlighting the young talent that emerged during the series. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal further solidified his spot in the team, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy impressed in his debut series, and Washington Sundar and Rishabh Pant both showed why they are among the game’s most exciting players.

“They’ve gained a lot of experience, and they’ll go from strength to strength,” Bumrah said. “We’ve shown that we have a lot of talent in our group. A lot of the youngsters are disappointed that we didn’t win, but they’ll take learnings from this experience.”

Coach Gambhir echoed Bumrah’s thoughts, acknowledging the positives despite the team’s tough loss. “It’s been really tough, and not the results we were expecting in these last three Test matches, but that’s what sport is all about,” he said. “All I can expect from the dressing room is to keep fighting—that’s all we can do.”

Reflecting on the series and the final Test, Bumrah said: “A lot of ifs and buts because the whole series was well fought. Today, we were in the game. It wasn’t completely one-sided. Test series come down to nervy moments, and the team that holds its nerve and sticks together wins. It was a well-fought series, with a lot of good learnings for us.”