'Usko chhor de, usko pata hai...' - India fast bowler recalls why Virat Kohli was once upset at Jasprit Bumrah in 2018

India's speedster Jasprit Bumrah's injury woes greatly affected India's chances to win two major trophies in 2022. He was ruled out of the Asia Cup as a precautionary measure considering the 20-20 World Cup later in the year but he ended up getting injured before the marquee tournament itself. In both tournaments, India failed to make it to the final, with Rohit Sharma's side getting knocked out after a 10-wicket defeat to England in the semi-finals of the 20-20 World Cup 2022.

Meanwhile, recently, in a chat on Cricbuzz, India’s veteran fast bowler Ishant Sharma revealed that he always had high hopes for Bumrah and he also recalled how he spotted Bumrah’s leadership qualities quite early. Ishant revealed how Bumrah didn't have the best of first spells in the 2018-19 Australia series, seeing which, Kohli wanted to have a chat with him but Ishant stopped him from doing so.

“I knew a day would come when Bumrah would become a leader. I remember in 2018 when we were playing a Test match in Australia and his first spell did not go well. Virat told me ‘I think I should go and speak to him’. I said ‘ He is a very smart bowler. He understands it. Usko chhor de. Usko pata hai kya karna, kya nehi karna (Leave him alone. He knows what he needs to do). In that way he is very smart. He understands the game and he understands the situation.' When you understand the situation, especially in Test cricket, you can make a comeback very quickly,” he said.

Jasprit Bumrah will not play first two Tests against Australia

In that very series, Bumrah bagged a whopping 21 wickets, including a 5-wicket haul as India secured a memorable victory Down Under. Bumrah has not played since September last year due to a back injury he suffered before the T20 World Cup. He was expected to make a comeback during India's ODI series against Sri Lanka but he ended up suffering another injury and was withdrawing from the squad at the last moment.

Bumrah has not been included in the squad for the first two Tests against Australia but captain Rohit Sharma is hopeful that he will be able to join the team for the rest of the series. It will be interesting to see how he will make a comeback for the third match of the four-match Test series against Australia which will be starting on February 9.