'Bazball' can fetch me heaps of wickets': Jasprit Bumrah relishes upcoming challenge against England

Jasprit Bumrah cannot really relate to the term Bazball but the linchpin of Indias pace attack says the muchhyped ultraaggressive approach that England have pioneered could end up working to his advantage and fetch him heaps of wickets in the upcoming fivematch IND vs ENG Test seriesEnglands offensive gameplan under coach Brendon McCullum of New Zealand and skipper Ben Stokes will be up against a massive challenge when the side faces India in a sevenweek tour The IND vs ENG Test series is slated to start on ThursdayI dont really relate to the term Bazball Bumrah who boasts of 41 wickets in 10 Tests against England told The Guardian in an interviewBut they are playing successful cricket and the aggressive route of taking the opposition on showing the world theres another way to play Test cricketIn July 2022 Bumrah got a taste of the Bazball when he captained India in Birmingham after Rohit Sharma was ruled out with COVID19The match is remembered not just for Englands offensive approach in securing a sevenwicket win but also for Bumrahs 29run onslaught against Stuart Broad in a single overAs a bowler what I think is that it keeps me in play And if theyre going for it playing so fast they wont tire me out I could get heaps of wickets I always think about how I can use things to my advantage Kudos to them but as a bowler youre in the game he addedI always remind the batters that if they need some advice on playing the pull shot they know where to come Bumrah quippedAlso Read Will lsquoBazballrsquo unleash its artistry in IndiaPacers smart captainsOn his thoughts about captaining India the 36yearold said I did one game and it was the utmost honourDrawing inspiration from Pat Cummins who has excelled as a seambowling captain for Australia Bumrah is open to the idea of taking on the leadership mantle in futurePlaying Test cricket is great captaining was even better Yes we lost but we were ahead in the match and I loved the responsibility Sometimes as a fast bowler you go down to fine leg and switch off but I loved being involved in every decision right in the thick of thingsAnd given the opportunity of course who wouldnt Cummins plays for Australia the number of matches differs and that kind of thing Not many seamers have done it beforeBut its a good example that yes fast bowlers are the smart ones they do a hard job and they know what to do around the gameTest cricket is the pinnacleDespite breaking into the Indian team with solid performances for fivetime IPL champions Mumbai Indians Bumrah considers Test cricket as the king of formatsI am of that generation where Test cricket is king he saidI will always judge myself on it Yes I started with IPL but I learned to bowl through firstclass cricket thats where I developed my skill the art of taking wickets In Test cricket you have to get the batsman out and that challenges you as a bowler he assertedBumrah said Test format eliminates the luck factor to a large extentT20s ODIs some days you might send down five slower balls and get five guys out when in a Test match they wouldnt have taken one There is no luck in Test cricket the better team wins you cannot take 20 wickets through luck he pointed outI dont know how the youngsters look at it But Test cricket has been around this long it will find a wayHowever like most observers of the game Bumrah also warned against an overkill of any formatEvery format has its place too much Test cricket would be boring too much white ball the same I think the sport needs a little bit of everything rather than an overdose of one format or the other he concludedWith agency inputs