Neeraj Chopra advises Jasprit Bumrah on how to increase pace

Jasprit Bumrah has emerged as India’s best fast bowler across formats over the past few years. What really sets him apart is his unique action, an extremely short run up and the slingshot release of the ball. He has become a master of sorts in delivering toe-crushing yorkers and has really taken the lead for India. Despite his remarkable contributions, Bumrah has faced setbacks due to injuries, particularly a back injury that saw him miss the 2022 T20 World Cup and the 2023 World Test Championship Final. However, Bumrah then made a remarkable comeback when he led India during the Ireland tour and then went on to become one of the most feared and regular bowlers for India. Speaking about Bumrah, Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra offered a suggestion to the bowler in order to increase his pace. Speaking on the Indian Express’ Idea Exchange, Chopra expressed his admiration for Bumrah’s unique bowling action and at the same time asked him to possibly increase the length of his run-up. “I like Jasprit Bumrah, I find his action unique. I feel he should lengthen his run-up to add more pace,” Chopra said. “As a javelin thrower, we often discuss how bowlers can increase their pace if they start their run-up from a little further back,” he went on to add. Chopra, who was present in Ahmedabad to watch the World Cup final between India and Australia, spoke about his own experience. Despite India’s heartbreaking defeat at Narendra Modi Stadium, Chopra said that conditions for batting was quite tough during the day and that batting eased under lights. “Virat (Kohli) bhai and KL Rahul were batting when I reached. There are some technical things that I don’t understand. Batting in the daytime wasn’t very easy. In the evening, I think, batting became easy. But our guys tried. Sometimes, it’s just not our day. But, frankly, everyone had a great tournament,” he said. As an elite sportsperson himself, Chopra acknowledged that the Australian team exhibited a strong mindset from the beginning and this played a huge factor in them clinching the title.