Indian skipper Jasprit Bumrah has sensationally been accused of chucking after ripping through the Australian top order in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series.
The Aussies were left in tatters at 8-70 early on the second day of the Perth Test, largely because of Bumrah’s five wicket haul and ripped through the top order at Optus Stadium.
Now Aussie cricket fans have called for the pace bowler’s action to be investigated, after he produced devastating swing in both directions off a short run off.
Australian middle-order batsman Travis Head first ignited the debate prior to the first Test during an interview.
‘In five years time, no one will remember Bumrah. He’ll be remembered as the guy who used to have illegal bowling action,’ he said.
Head was not one of Bumrah’s victims, bowled by Harshit Rana.
Bumrah celebrates the key wicket of Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey in the first Test
Australian batting champion Steve Smith fell to a first ball duck to Bumrah in a devastating spell of bowling
But Usman Khawaja (8), debutant Nathan McSweeney (10), Steve Smith (golden duck), Alex Carey (21) and skipper Pat Cummins (3) all fell to his devastating bowling.
While many credited Bumrah for unplayable deliveries and quality bowling for wrecking the Aussie top order, others accused him of bending his arm and chucking the ball to achieve colossal amounts of swing.
‘I think he chucks it. I always have. With his run up it would be almost impossible to bowl the pace he does without chucking it and his arm is nowhere near straight,’ one posted.
‘He definitely chucks it. I watched multiple slow motion shots this morning and it was like an old school throw bowler,’ added another.
‘If Jasprit Bumrah hailed from another country, by now, his bowling action would have been suspended by the ICC,’ fumed another.
Others suggested that while he may not be breaking any of cricket’s laws, he was pushing them to their limits.
‘For as well as Jasprit Bumrah bowled yesterday, there remains an elephant in the room: his action is still awfully suspect. As with any rule there’s always a degree of tolerance, but he would have to be hard up against it,’ one posted.
While others said it was just sour grapes from Australian cricket fans devastated to see their batsmen humbled on home soil.
Aussie cricket fans have accused the Indian skipper of an illegal action that led to the flurry of wickets in the first Test
‘Those who think Bumrah chucks should stop watching cricket bcz they clearly don’t understand biomechanics or bowling actions,’ one cricket fan added.
Former Australian opener David Warner offered some insight into why the Indian skipper is so hard to face.
‘The key challenge of Bumrah is getting used to his action. If you haven’t faced him before, it can be quite challenging,’ Warner said.
‘You’ve got to try and get used to the stutter at the crease. And then he lets go some thunderbolts. He always hits line and length. Can swing them both ways.
‘I think the beauty of him is he’s got two different gears. He can pitch it up when the ball is new and then he can go the other length.’
Former England international and renowned bowling coach Ian Pont previously defended Bumrah’s action in 2022 and said it looked awkward because of his hypermobility in the elbow joint.
‘You can see his arm straight from the wrist to elbow. The rule is when it is above the vertical that the elbow must not bend past 15 degrees,’ he said.
‘You can clearly see the forward flexion in his arm, which is a hyperextension. This is allowed (a forward bend) for people with hyper-mobile joints.
‘A hyperextension is a movement in the similar direction to the direction of movement – not downward or to the side. This is why Bumrah’s action is classified as legal since it is within the guidelines of hypermobility.’
Nottingham Trent University senior lecturer in biomechanics Paul Felton has worked with numerous cricket coaches and further explained how the hypermobility was an advantage, but a legal one.
‘His hypermobility also provides further advantages (in) that he is able to maintain alignment throughout his bowling action which reduces variability in his control of line and length,’ he said.
‘So, his hypermobility makes him unique. That he’s able to maximise speed by accessing more optimal movement patterns which increases control and provide lower injury risk.’
