Former India coach Ravi Shastri recalls his first conversation with Jasprit Bumrah on Test cricket aspirations

Jasprit Bumrah created history by becoming the first-ever bowler in the history of cricket to be ranked as No.1 in all three formats and also became the first India fast bowler to achieve this the No.1 ranking in the test format.

It hasn’t been an easy ride for Bumrah as he suffered a career-threatening back injury in 2022 which kept him out of the game for more than a year. Many cricket pundits had lost in Bumrah or were assured of his abilities once he made a comeback from such a serious injury. But Bumrah brushed away all the scepticism aside and has been in sublime form with the ball since his comeback in the Asia Cup in 2023.

It seems that Bumrah is back stronger and more mature than before which is why he is ruling the rankings irrespective of the formats. Amid all the praises and accolades, former India coach Ravi Shastri reminisces about his first phone call with Jasprit Bumrah on his interest in playing Test Cricket for India which he readily accepted.

Shastri also spoke up about how Bumrah was stereotyped as a white-ball format bowler and how he felt that his unorthodox action and skiddy pace could come win a Test match as well for India. Reminiscing Bumrah’s induction in Test cricket in an interview with Michael Atherton, Ravi Shastri said, “I remember my first call to him, it was in Kolkata. I asked him, if would he be interested in Test cricket. He said that would be the biggest day of his life. He was labelled as a white-ball cricketer without asking him. But I knew. I wanted to see how hungry he was. I told him to get ready and be prepared. I told him I was going to unleash him in South Africa."

Bumrah was excited to play under Kohli’s leadership says Shastri

Shastri also shed light on Bumrah’s excitement to feature under Virat’s captaincy. Ravi Shastri said, “He's so excited to be playing and doing well in Test cricket. He was desperate to play Test cricket with Virat Kohli. They know, that at the end of the day, no one remembers white ball averages. They will always remember your numbers in Test cricket.”

Ever since he burst onto the scene in 2018, Bumrah has been the driving force behind India's fast bowling attack. He recently achieved a remarkable feat, becoming the quickest Indian pacer to reach 150 wickets in the format!

Earlier, Virat Kohli was Bumrah's captain but stepped down in January 2022. Interestingly, Bumrah even had a chance to lead the Indian team himself later that year! In a Test match against England, Rohit Sharma, the regular captain, was unavailable due to Covid-19, and Bumrah stepped up to captain the team.