'I made Bharat Arun call him up. Told him to be ready': How Shastri, Kohli planned 28-year-old India bowler's Test debut
The former India head coach specifically recalled how he was adamant on not making the fast bowler play his first Test in India, and insisted that he be 'unleashed' overseas.
Ravi Shastri and Bharat Arun deserve truckloads of credit for shaping India into the formidable fast-bowling force they are today. With Shastri as coach and Arun as head of India's bowling, the transformation they brought about in India’s fast bowling department will be spoken about for ages. It was their effort that helped India progress from a promising fast bowling unit into a lethal pace battery, one capable of picking up 20 wickets.
In the present day, the pace bowling trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj is spitting fire wherever they bowl, especially in overseas conditions. In terms of experience, Shami is the most capped among the three while Siraj is the youngest. Bumrah, however, is the one that has rose quickest among the three. Since his Test debut in 2018 in South Africa, Bumrah has already taken 100 Test wickets, of which only four have come at home.
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Shastri recalled the 2018 Test series in South Africa and revealed how he and captain Virat Kohli carefully planned Bumrah's debut in whites. The former head coach specifically recalled how he was adamant on not making Bumrah play his first Test in India, and insisted that he be 'unleashed' in South Africa.
"He knew. I made Bharat Arun call him up and let him know that be ready. You might just get a call up. I spoke to Virat, spoke to the selectors. I said not in India… don't even bring him into the 15 in India. Unleash him straight in South Africa. And coming to Cape Town," Shastri said on 'The Ravi Shastri' Show on Star Sports.
What transpired from there was the stuff of legends. Bumrah had a fine start in the first two matches, claiming seven wickets, but it was in Johannesburg in the third match where the star bowler led from the front and grabbed a five-wicket-haul to help India register a memorable win. And ever since, there has been looking back for Bumrah as he went on to become the spearhead of the Indian bowling attack.
