Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling coach James Franklin does not read much into the debate around how the bowling skill of Jasprit Bumrah has been utilised this season by Mumbai Indians, saying the pacer anyway makes ‘big impact’ on contests.
MI have usually saved Bumrah for the second half of the innings, allowing him only one over or so in the powerplay this year, which has raised questions on skipper Hardik Pandya’s use of the most successful bowler.
Bumrah has been the only bright spot for the five-time IPL winners Mumbai Indians who are all but out of the race for the playoffs. They are languishing at the bottom of the table with only three wins in 11 matches.
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“Let’s see what sort of tactics Mumbai go with. How they use Bumrah. I know there has been a little bit of debate around about how he gets used, but again, it doesn’t really matter where he gets used,” Franklin told media here during SRH’s training session ahead of their clash against Mumbai Indians.
“He has generally a pretty big impact on games. But if we see that showdown, I am sure it will be pretty exciting to watch.”
“Those are the sort of contests that not only your team or your coaching staff, but people around the world, journalists, media, you want to watch those contests because it is the best going against the best,” Franklin replied when asked about an exciting match-up between Bumrah and SRH batter Travis Head.
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Franklin said contending with someone as explosive as South Africa’s Heinrich Klaasen following up the formidable top order, has been a ‘daunting challenge’ for SRH’s opponents this year.
“With Klaasen, we know how good he has been for the last few years. When we have that sort of dynamism at the top of the order and then we get a good start, that obviously helps someone like Klaasen,” he said.
“It is a pretty daunting prospect for most opposition bowling attacks, knowing that if we can get a good start with the bat, they have still got to deal with the likes of Klaasen in the second half of an innings,” he added.
The former Kiwi bowler expressed confidence that left-arm India pacer T Natarajan could keep pushing for his case with the good show he has produced this year.
Natarajan, who has been accurate with his death overs bowling, was not considered for India’s squad for the T20 World Cup.
“There are just so many quality players in India. He can only control what he can. His great strength is obviously his yorker bowling. That is where he is a huge asset for us as a team,” he said.
“If he keeps going the way he is going and can hold his form throughout the rest of this IPL, those sorts of conversations around India, they tend to take care of themselves. If he keeps performing, then getting back in that Indian side won’t be too far away from it,” Franklin added.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians’ batter Naman Dhir said that there are no discussions on resting Bumrah for the clash as MI are not expected to make the final four in the tournament and the bowler could do well with some time off.
“Right now there are no talks regarding this, but it’s up to (the team) management to take a decision,” he said.
India captain Rohit batted without any visible discomfort for about half an hour, facing throwdown specialists and spinners including Piyush Chawla, as well as net bowlers on Sunday evening here at the Wankhede Stadium.
Rohit, who had a back-related issue, had played as an impact substitute last Friday against Kolkata Knight Riders and Dhir hoped that the former MI skipper has recovered completely.
“He had a stiff back before the last game. The (T20) World Cup is approaching, so for precaution, he played as an impact sub. But he is here for practice today, so I guess he is all fit and fine,” Dhir said.
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