IPL 2021: Sanjay Manjrekar Gives Example of Pakistan’s Umar Gul While Explaining How Mumbai Indians Should Use Jasprit Bumrah

Mumbai Indians take on Kolkata Knight Riders in a crucial Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) encounter on Thursday. The match is important for both teams as a win for KKR will take them to 8 points, same as MI. While victory for Rohit Sharma’s team would mean they reach the 10-point mark, where third placed Royal Challengers Bangalore are currently. The battle for the last two play-off spots will hot up soon and it will intensify further if Eoin Morgan’s team is able to beat MI, something that has happened very seldom in the history of the league. The MI vs KKR clash has been the biggest mismatch in IPL over the years as MI lead the head-to-head 22-6.

If Mumbai are to continue this domination on Thursday, then they would need Jasprit Bumrah to neutralise the threats posed by Andre Russell and the other top KKR batsmen. KKR mostly bank on a final flourish to power themselves to big totals and Bumrah will have to control that.

Former India batsman and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar was asked during a show on ESPNCricinfo on how Mumbai Indians should best use Jasprit Bumrah. To this Manjrekar had a simple suggestion.

“If you look at Bumrah’s style, it isn’t like that of either Siraj or Deepak Chahar, who try and dismiss batsmen through swing, when they are not looking to go after the bowling. Bumrah’s wickets generally come in the latter half. So, they should get the likes of Trent Boult and Adam Milne to bowl in the initial stages,” Manjrekar said.

The former India batsman and Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy captain gave the example of Pakistan paceman Umar Gul and how his 4 overs were utilised by the team in T20 matches.

“If you remember Umar Gul used to bowl all his four overs towards the end of the innings for Pakistan and he was quite successful. I think MI should keep all four of Bumrah’s overs after the 10-over mark. In case the team is in trouble and opposition batsmen are scoring freely then may be bring him on for a few overs but try and save him for the later stages. Get him to bowl when the pressure increases and batsmen are desperately looking to hit boundaries,” Manjrekar said.

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Mumbai Indians are currently on the fourth spot in the points table with 8 points from 8 matches. Kolkata Knight Riders are 6th with 6 points from 8 matches.