Beware England! Here comes Kumble 2.0 with Bumrah’s mask

England batsman Jos Buttler on Saturday talked of how the Indian Premier League (IPL) has given him and some other England players some idea of how to face Jasprit Bumrah’s unique action and the angles he bowls with, but the England wicketkeeper-batsman could be in for a surprise if Bumrah decides to bowl leg-spin in Anil Kumble’s style which he seems to be working on.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a video on Saturday showing the right-arm India pacer imitating Kumble’s action in the nets. “We have all seen @Jaspritbumrah93’s fiery yorkers and sharp bouncers. Here’s presenting a never-seen-before version of the fast bowler,” the BCCI tweeted on its handle along with video frames of Bumrah bowling his leg-spinners.

The video showed Bumrah bowling six leg-spin deliveries a la Kumble and one or two of them turned out to be googly!

“Jasprit Bumrah does an Anil Kumble in the nets,” the BCCI wrote in a caption on the video.

If he gets it right for a prolonged period, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for India to throw him the ball for Kumble’s fast spinners were too tough to handle on Indian wickets. And against England, the leg-spinner had taken 56 wickets in nine Tests with four five-wicket hauls at home.

Bumrah has also had some injury issues in recent past and his unique bowling action, though effective, is believed to be putting too much strain on his body. It won’t be a bad idea if he starts bowling in Kumble’s perfect and attractive style to may be ease the pressure on his back.

Meanwhile, Kumble seems to be impressed with Bumrah’s effort, calling it “pretty close”.

“Well done Boom. Pretty close. You are an inspiration to the next generation of young fast bowlers who are imitating your style. Best wishes for the upcoming series,” Kumble said.

Kumble announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008 after scalping 619 and 337 wickets respectively in 132 Tests and 271 ODIs. He is the third highest leading wicket-taker in Test cricket after Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708).

India are slated to take on England in a four-match Test series beginning 5 February at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Following that, the two teams will lock horns in five T20Is and three ODIs. WITH IANS INPUTS