Why Ben Duckett plays Jasprit Bumrah so well; experts explain the reason

Ben Duckett’s fearless batting against India’s top pacer Jasprit Bumrah has impressed many cricket fans and experts. Even on Day 5 of the Headingley Test , while India searched for a breakthrough, Duckett looked in complete control, especially against Bumrah, who is known for troubling even the best batters.

So why does Duckett look so comfortable against Bumrah? Former cricketers Deep Dasgupta and Sanjay Manjrekar have shared their reasons.

Experts explain why Duckett plays Bumrtah so well

According to Deep Dasgupta, Duckett is able to read Bumrah better than most players. He also pointed out that Duckett doesn’t come too far forward when playing Bumrah.

“He reads him better. Bumrah would give you cues, but his would be very unique. Duckett picks those cues better. The way he plays, he doesn’t come forward and playing from the crease. Most of his batting is based on eye-hand co-ordination. Not much footwork, less chance of you getting caught across the line. You get nick or get bowled. that kind of helps, playing from the crease and on the backfoot, giving him that extra time,” Deep Dasgupta said.

Sanjay Manjrekar also explained how Duckett’s approach to Bumrah is very different from how he plays other bowlers. He gave the example of how Duckett plays Prasidh Krishna by going back and cutting, but stays neutral and makes late adjustments against Bumrah.

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“He’s not playing too much on the front foot, or going on the back foot. With other bowlers you’ll see he’s a back-foot player. With Bumrah, it’s on the crease and then the reaction. With Prasidh, he’ll go back and cut on the back-foot,” Manjrekar said.