Jasprit Bumrah to start IND vs NZ WTC final with an eye on breaking Kapil Dev's long-standing record
Bumrah will start the tour of England with the WTC Final against New Zealand, followed by 5 Tests against England, giving him the ideal opportunity to break Kapil Dev's record.
Jasprit Bumrah’s meteoric rise in international cricket and especially his success in Tests opened the gates for the fast-bowling revolution in India. Courtesy Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvnehswar Kumar – India were always knocking on the doors but it was the introduction of Bumrah that really made India a fast bowling powerhouse, something which was a distant dream even a decade ago.
Bumrah will be one of the Virat Kohli’s most crucial weapon, if not the most important one when in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand on June 18. If things go well for Bumrah then the WTC final can provide him the stepping stone to go past Kapil Dev.
The 27-year-old fast bowler, who recently tied the knot with cricket presenter Sanjana Ganesan, has picked up 83 wickets in just 19 Test matches and has a chance to break Kapil Dev's long-standing record for India.
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The former India captain is the fastest to the 100-wicket mark in Test cricket among Indian pacers, which he completed in 25 Tests. Kapil, considered the gold standard for swing and pace bowling in India, is followed by former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who took 28 Tests to reach the mark. Bumrah's teammate Mohammed Shami is placed third, having taken 29 Tests to complete a century of Test wickets.
Bumrah will start the tour of England with the World Test Championship Final against New Zealand, followed by 5 Tests against England. Given the conditions in England he can be expected to pick 17 wickets or more on the tour and that would help him either break or equal Kapil Dev's mark.
A good performance from Bumrah will be essential for the Indian team, who apart from looking to make history by winning the maiden World Test Championship, would also look to win a series in England for the first time since 2007. They have been beaten soundly on their last three tours and Joe Root and his team would want to avenge their 1-3 loss in India earlier this year.
The fastest Indian to the 100-wicket mark in Tests is Ravichandran Ashwin, who took just 19 matches to reach the mark. He is followed by other spinners like Erapalli Prasanna (20), Anil Kumble (21), Subhash Gupte (22), Vinoo Mankad (23) and Ravindra Jadeja (24).
