New Delhi: Thirty-two-year-old Ahmedabad-born Jasprit Bumrah is the most dangerous fast bowler in contemporary cricket. Having returned to action after 58 days, he is certain to send shivers down the spine of whichever Afghanistan opener takes strike in the first T20I of the series in the national capital Delhi on Sunday (from 7:30 p.m.). And there is one more reason why the Afghan batsmen should be even more worried.
According to a report by a very well-known cricket website, yorker specialist Bumrah has slightly extended his run-up. During Friday’s practice session in Delhi, he bowled after running in from his new run-up and troubled several Indian batsmen, including Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
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A Deadly Ball Released From His Hand Like an Arrow
Think of an archer stretching the bowstring, positioning the arrow and taking aim. We can compare that entire process here to Bumrah’s run-up. Then, when the archer releases the arrow, we can compare that to the ball shooting out of Bumrah’s hand — his hyper-extended right arm — in an action that can completely baffle a batsman.
The entire process can be deadly for a batsman. The slightest lapse in concentration or a small mistake in reading the ball can result in the loss of his wicket.
His Run-Up Is Even Longer Than Arshdeep Singh’s
Bumrah usually begins his run-up by walking quickly for a short distance before starting to run. Towards the end, he sprints at full pace, takes a small jump and delivers the ball, often leaving batsmen completely bewildered. So, imagine the concern among opposition batsmen when they learn that the stormy fast bowler has extended his run-up! Afghanistan’s batsmen will certainly be worried.
Bumrah has surprised everyone by adding a little more distance to his run-up. During Friday’s practice, there were occasions when he started running from an even greater distance than Arshdeep Singh before delivering the ball.
Bumrah Began His Journey From In Front of the Gautam Gambhir Stand
Coincidentally, the stand in front of which Bumrah began his run-up at the Delhi ground was the Gautam Gambhir Stand. Gambhir is the head coach of the Indian team.
At times, Bumrah extended his run-up by nearly one-third of the distance and used three different markers for the purpose. He placed a black bottle at the farthest point from where he started his run-up. A red bottle was placed close to the stumps, marking the point from where he intended to take his small jump.
Between the two bottles, he placed an India cap. This was the point from where he began running after initially walking towards it. However, during Friday’s practice session, Bumrah also used his old, shorter run-up. After a while, he suddenly switched to the longer run-up and bowled after running in from the greater distance.
2026 Has Been a Mixed Year for Bumrah
The year 2026 has been a mixed one for Bumrah. After making a major contribution to India’s T20 World Cup triumph in March, he endured a poor IPL campaign with Mumbai Indians, managing only four wickets at an extremely poor bowling average of 102.50.
During that tournament, Bumrah neither had his usual pace nor the accuracy expected from him. He was subsequently troubled by a left-knee injury. He missed an ODI against England as well as the Test series against Sri Lanka.
For several days, he underwent rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. After being declared fit, he began bowling from a longer distance during practice in Delhi the very next day.
Now, the big question is whether Bumrah will run in from the longer run-up against Afghanistan on Sunday or revert to his shorter run-up. One thing is certain, though: during Friday’s practice, he certainly made life very difficult for Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the outstanding batsman who scored the most runs in IPL 2026 — a staggering 776.
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