It’s no coincidence that Jasprit Bumrah’s journey in Test cricket since 2018 has almost emulated India’s, writes Sarah Waris.

Four years ago, India took the field at Newlands, Cape Town, located near Table Mountain, with a ‘mad’ dream. A dream to be the best in the world, to conquer locations hitherto unbreachable and terrorize opponents who had previously terrorized them. A dream to mount obstacles, cross boundaries and dominate the best in their own backyards. The poetic could even say that the hill surrounding them was a mere reflection of their aspirations. Starting at the very bottom, maneuvering through the steep slopes, the rocky terrain, and unfamiliar conditions to finally, hopefully, reach the summit one day.

In a society where wanting more than your potential is always frowned upon, India’s desires were always questioned. It was ‘mad’ really. Were they aware that winning abroad meant assembling a world-class fast bowling attack? That the spinners, their go-to men since forever, would play only limited roles? Where would they even find that kind of resource, how would they even assemble a bunch of fit quicks who could shrug off fatigue and tiredness to bowl threatening overs hour-after-hour?

They had an inconsistent Ishant Sharma, an injury-ridden Mohammad Shami, a Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who on most days, needed some hint of swing in the air to succeed, and an Umesh Yadav who was fast but wayward. And when they called up Jasprit Bumrah, an “IPL product” with an action that spelled disaster, India’s mission world domination was truly deemed a ‘mad’ one indeed.

1,447 days since, it’s hard to wonder why we ever questioned them in the first place, why we never had hope, in either Bumrah’s magic arm or in the unorthodox group of fast bowlers who might not seem fearsome till you face them on the field.

The celebrated career of a wonderboy

Everything about Bumrah goes against accepted fast-bowling wisdom. He has a short run-up, something he has chosen voluntarily because it delays him from getting exhausted. He hops in, which prevents one from gauging just how fast he could be. He isn’t the in-your-face kind of bowler either. His twinkling eyes and the sudden smile after a pin-point yorker belie the aggression simmering underneath. It spills over from time to time, as it did at Lord’s after a run-in with James Anderson, but on most occasions, Bumrah stands as an antidote to Virat Kohli’s boisterous energy on the field.

Maybe it’s because he’d rather preserve himself, channeling all of himself to the task that the team has entrusted him with. Instead, he focuses on landing perfectly, transferring his weight to the left leg at the right time. He generates pace smoothly and is brilliant with his accuracy, speed, balance, and control. He moves it both ways with the new ball, and is even more lethal with the old one, getting the ball to reverse swing. He has the bouncers and the yorkers, which is always at Kohli’s beck and call in any situation.

And Kohli has no reason to look further than Bumrah either. Since the latter’s debut in 2018, India have won 10 overseas Test matches, with Bumrah starring in nine of them. The only overseas game where he played no role was at the Gabba this year, but only because he was injured. His spell at Johannesburg in his debut series was all about devouring the giants, while the one at Nottingham a few months later saw him stirring up a storm as he dismissed the resilient Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow in successive deliveries. Australia 2018 shaped his career, with his variations helping India to a historical series win. In West Indies, Bumrah spelled devastation with his craft, extracting movement with a hostile piece of bowling. Melbourne 2020 saw him end with a match haul of 6-110, and his return to England in August this year was nothing short of sensational. He dismissed Joe Root at Lord’s, but it was the six overs he bowled at The Oval which will be remembered for a long time. Not that the other bowling spells were less memorable; it’s just that the Oval one highlights the added responsibility Bumrah has taken to set games up, maintaining a role in the shadows as other bowlers benefit from his efforts.

England had reached 131-2, with little on offer for the quicks, and it was Bumrah who turned the tide yet again. He beat the edge of the bat, got the ball to swing, made a mess of the stumps, sent down fiery inswingers, and almost had Joe Root twice with yorkers the England captain just about survived. His spell of 6-2-6-2 might get lost in his overall innings figures of 2-27 but the truth is that the pressure he applied had the biggest role to play in India’s miracle win. In the process, he also got his 100th scalp in only 24 matches to become the fastest quick from the country to the feat.

Those 24 matches have been nothing but a coming-to-life of a long-held dream for the India Test team with wins here, there, everywhere. His average of 22.79, which falls to 21.45 overseas, shows how he has been the driving force behind the side’s successes. In wins, he averages 16.16, which is the best by any bowler since his Test debut (min. 50 wickets taken). He has countered the best batters in the world in this period, dismissing Joe Root six times, AB de Villiers three times, and Kane Williamson along with Hashim Amla and Alastair Cook twice each. The world’s best are suddenly seeing themselves up against a resurgent India, an India against whom run-scoring is tougher, and an India where a lot can happen after a period of nothingness, and while Bumrah has been aided brilliantly by his team, it’s too uncanny a coincidence to ignore that this has all come about since his debut.

In a way, Bumrah reflects the spirit of India’s Test team. Both laughed at and ridiculed for the Test journey they wanted to partake in four years ago, they have managed to hush critics with a run of results for the ages. Standing proudly at the pedestal, claiming to be the best in the world, both Bumrah and India now return to Table Mountain, the venue that kickstarted their journey of world domination. Starting off from the foothills, they’re just one step away from the peak — South Africa being the only country where India are yet to win a Test series. How fitting that Cape Town, the venue of the first Test in 2018, caps off the series on January 15, 2022. The place that started it all could be the place where it all comes to a celebratory hurrah and blame me for being poetic, but that’s some story.