Bumrah vulnerable to injuries due to unorthodox action: Hadlee

Auckland: Jasprit Bumrah is prone and vulnerable to injuries due to his unorthodox bowling action but India fast bowler’s technique has proved highly effective in helping him catch batsmen off guard, said former New Zealand all-rounder Richard Hadlee.

“Jasprit fits into the unorthodox bowling category with virtually no run up to the crease. His technique, in some ways, defies belief but has proved to be a highly effective one. He is what I call a shoulder or strength bowler with all his power and pace coming from the final part of his action as he releases the ball,” said Hadlee in an interview with the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The Kiwi, a former pace bowler himself, said he is unsure about Bumrah’s longevity in cricket.
“Jasprit’s longevity in the game is yet to be determined. I suspect he could be more vulnerable to injury problems than those fast bowlers with more classical and pure actions or techniques.”

Hadlee, who himself was known to have a perfect and smooth bowling action, said that Bumrah’s injuries could be career-threatening but he causes problems to batsmen due to his unconventional action.

“Some of his potential injuries could be severe because of the stresses and strains he places on his body. I hope any injuries he may incur will not be potentially career ending because he is a delight to watch, and he causes batsmen all sorts of problems with his unsuspecting pace, bounce, and ball movement in the air and off the pitch,” added Hadlee.

“It would be very difficult to coach his technique to an aspiring fast bowler and I think a coach would refrain from doing from that because biomechanically it could cause problems with injury. However, I suspect some youngsters may try to imitate him. I believe you let aspiring young fast bowlers do it their way but help to fine tune some the skill sets and finer subtleties of bowling,” he said further.

The 69-year-old, who formed a legendary quartet of all-rounders with Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Kapil Dev during the late 1970s and 1980s also said cricket needs India due to the revenue it generates and also strides it has made in Test cricket that has kept longest format of the game alive.

“There is no doubt India produces a lot of revenue for cricket. Without India, the face of world cricket would be very different, therefore cricket needs India,” said Hadlee.

“But India has also made an outstanding contribution to Test cricket — like in all formats. Their Test performances in Australia were outstanding despite that 36 all out blip. They bounced back superbly, and Test cricket came alive again. So many youngsters came into the team and performed. It showed the great depth of talented players India have in all formats,” Hadlee added.