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Facing Jasprit Bumrah is a daunting task due to his unpredictability and exceptional skills, as acknowledged by England’s Ben Duckett.

• Posted on June 22, 2025

One of many ways to gauge the effectiveness of a bowler is to ascertain how much the opposition worries about him.

Ben Stokes, in the lead-up to the first Test here in Headingley, may have declared that he did not fear Jasprit Bumrah, but England opener Ben Duckett, who scored a chancy half-century (62, 94b) on day two, laid bare the trepidation that came with facing the maverick pacer.

“He’s the best bowler in the world,” Duckett said of Bumrah, after the speedster had single-handedly kept India in the contest with figures of three for 48 from 13 overs. “He’s good in any condition, and when he’s coming in down the hill [at Headingley] with the lights on and it’s swinging both ways, it’s tough.”

In a sense, Bumrah got the highest praise – even a side whose primary identity is to play attacking cricket, buckled down and plotted to see him off.

“I actually didn’t really want to target him,” Duckett said. “I felt like trying and minimising the damage. I even left a few balls. He is a worldclass. You can’t just let someone like him bowl. He is too good for that.”

The southpaw also explained the difference between facing Bumrah and other bowlers. “It starts from how his run-up is. You are waiting and waiting for him to get there. And his ability to bowl three or four different balls with no cue.

“You don’t know if he’s bowling a bouncer, or a slow ball, a yorker, an away-swinger or an inswinger until it comes out of his hand. He has such fast wrists. You’ve got to watch the ball so hard.

“That’s the difference. Other bowlers, you can probably see it out of their hand if they are bowling the wobble ball or something. Very difficult to pick it with Bumrah.”

Facing Jasprit Bumrah is a daunting task due to his unpredictability and exceptional skills, as acknowledged by England's Ben Duckett. | Source: The Hindu

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