India vs Ireland: Bumrah, Prasidh in focus ahead of World Cup selection

The 29-year-old hasn’t played a competitive game since September 22 last year, a long-standing back injury necessitating surgery in New Zealand in March. A couple of false starts in the past demanded that his return be slow, measured and only subject to his regaining total and complete fitness. Bumrah has ticked all the boxes in the rehabilitation process and will kick off his comeback in Malahide on Friday (August 18), in the first of three Twenty20 Internationals against Ireland.

India have visited Ireland for such contests twice in the past, the first time with a full-strength squad and then with an experimental set-up last year which was still good enough to complete a 2-0 sweep. Normally, a series against Ireland would hardly register on the radar, but with Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna, set to play for the first time in 12 months, back in contention, this showdown assumes enormous significance.

12 games for Bumrah before WC opener

Even in isolation, the return of Bumrah and Prasidh, just about beginning to establish himself as a 50-over force when he too was struck down by injury, is a huge development. But with the 50-over World Cup in India less than 50 days away, there is greater interest in how these two quicks acquit themselves. Their rhythm will be in focus, of course, but not as much as how they front up to the rigours of competitive play after such a long hiatus. Bumrah and Prasidh won’t be judged on how many wickets they pick up; there is the larger picture of their ease of comfort during bowling and no lingering side/after-effects of bounding in for three or four overs to consider, and it is on this aspect that the largely decision-making group will concentrate.

Ireland are no pushovers, certainly not in their own backyard. Skipper Paul Stirling is as aggressive as they come and there is attacking talent aplenty in the middle order, which means India won’t have things their own way. To test himself against positive-minded batsmen is a challenge Bumrah will relish, but in so many ways, he will be starting from scratch and therefore will be well advised to take baby steps in the first couple of games.

Bumrah will have a maximum of 12 international fixtures in the two white-ball formats combined to bowl himself back into form before India’s World Cup opener against Australia in Chennai. In his absence, the team hasn’t done too badly, winning 19 of 28 ODIs and 11 of 18 T20Is, but the value of having his services in a competition as stressful, high-profile, demanding and long drawn out as a World Cup can never be exaggerated.

The welcome emergence of Mohammed Siraj as a game-changer, allied with Mohammed Shami’s experience and guile, have combined to elevate India’s pace bowling stocks. Just how much more threatening India will be when Bumrah slots back in as the spearhead is hardly open to conjecture. In his seven and a half years at the highest level, the Gujarat quick has reiterated his class and quality time and again. A potent force with the new ball but deadly dangerous at the death with his heady concoction of toe-crushing yorkers and a variety of slower deliveries, Bumrah’s contribution extends beyond the wickets he picks up.

Chance for IPL heroes

Bumrah boasts 121 wickets from 72 ODIs – he grabs a scalp every 5.1 overs – and his economy of 4.63 at a time when 300 is breached with monotonous regularity is a precious commodity that Rohit Sharma would love to have at his disposal. And while these numbers are all humongously impressive, Bumrah’s presence lends a dimension that extends beyond words. For batsmen aware that he has four or five overs at the death, other bowlers loom as potential targets to have a swipe at; when the others are as skilled as Siraj and Shami are, it can open up both ends for exploitation.

Having already led the country in a Test match in England last year, the captaincy that has been conferred on him for the Ireland tour should come as no surprise. There is one school of thought which believes Bumrah would have been better off left to his own devices so that his attention can be channelled only on his comeback, but the (capt) against his name has to be viewed as a huge vote of confidence from Ajit Agarkar’s selection committee, which has in one fell swoop made it clear just in what esteem it holds the pace spearhead.

Bumrah isn’t just Rohit’s go-to man at any stage of the innings, he is a shrewd student of the game who is forever willing to share his insights with his colleagues. He shares a wonderful rapport with Shami and Siraj – as with the rest of the pace pack, who view him with the reverence and admiration his craft demands – and his leadership credentials when it comes to the bowling group can’t be overstated.

While Bumrah will understandably attract most eyeballs, it will be foolhardy to ignore Prasidh. At 27, he should have been a semi-veteran but he has played only 14 ODIs, which have fetched him 25 wickets. His strike-rate is better than Bumrah’s – 26.9 deliveries per wicket – though it must be kept in mind that he has played less than a fifth of his senior partner’s 72 games. It will be fair to say that seldom has a T20I debut by an Indian held as much meaning and import.

Beyond these two obvious candidates, this series is an opportunity for several others to either keep themselves relevant or nudge the selectors into reconsidering them. Sanju Samson falls in the former category, perhaps playing for his immediate future, while the returning Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube will attempt to showcase their all-round skills with World Cup berths as the added incentive. Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma, rewarded for IPL heroics, will seek to translate franchise form into international success but like the others, they will have to operate in the shadows of Bumrah and, to a lesser extent, Prasidh.