Slow and unsteady: Has Jasprit Bumrah’s once-lethal variation lost its edge?

There was a time when Jasprit Bumrah’s slow ball was not just a variation but a piece of magic. A well-disguised trick, executed with equal arm speed, that forces even the best hitters to hesitate. He doesn’t just use it. He uses it like the latest smartphone and plays with it.

This IPL, that toy looks a bit outdated.

The numbers were uncharacteristically grim: 46 slower balls bowled, 74 runs conceded, and no wickets. It was a rare slump for a bowler with a reputation for deceit and discipline. It reflects a broader struggle. Bumrah has taken just 3 wickets in 10 games this season with an economy of 8.89, while his average has soared to 109.67. The numbers do not do justice to a maestro and Bumrah’s struggles had an immediate impact on what was a memorable campaign for Mumbai Indians.

Sunil Gavaskar perhaps summed it up best when he spoke on Star Sports:

“Bumrah is trying his best but he seems to be trying too many extra things. He is creating wicket chances but luck is not on his side. His pace has also dropped. His slower balls have become fuller in length. The line that used to be aimed at the stumps is now drifting to the leg stumps.”

This observation gets to the heart of the matter. Slower balls not only lose their bite, but also their accuracy.

But one can perhaps understand why Bumrah goes there so frequently. Because it allows him to break up games. Just hit the rewind button and your memory will wander back to the 2018 Boxing Day Test against Australia at the MCG. Shaun Marsh propelled India to a breakthrough just before lunch. Bumrah fingered the seam, same movement, different rhythm, Marsh didn’t read it, the ball hit his pads and he stood plumb in front as India wrested control.

Main Test 2021: Ollie Robinson wasted time and thwarted India’s bid for a memorable win on day five but was ruined by a change of pace around the stumps and was lbw.

The global stage provides a clearer illustration. Steve Smith failed to spot the slower players and was heavier in the 2023 ODI World Cup final. It provided a brief window for India to feel momentum after a heartbreaking loss. Mohammad Rizwan was cheated twice, in Ahmedabad and New York. Harry Brook in the T20 WC semi-finals, Rachin Ravindra and Mitch Santner in the final, each time highlighted Bumrah’s use of slower balls not as stock options but as triggers for collapse.

His MI teammate Ryan Rickelton couldn’t decipher his change in Ahmedabad, while Kolkata’s Roston Chase was also deceived. The pattern is familiar. Bumrah’s slow ball thrives on disguise, timing and understanding of the situation. It comes when the batsmen least expect it, leaving them without an answer.

This IPL, the layer of surprise seems even thinner.

Gavaskar points to technological drift:

“His usual slow-pitch length has become fuller…the line that used to be aimed at the stump is now drifting towards the leg stump.”

This marginal shift is important. Bumrah’s slower ball always works best when it threatens the stumps first, forcing the batsmen to bowl. A fuller leg stump provides release, allowing hitters to get into angles, even on ill-timed shots.

There is another overly complicating factor.

“He went too far and it hurt him… He should go back to his basics and stick to what is best for him,” Gavaskar noted.

To stay ahead of increasingly prepared batsmen, Bumrah seems to be adding layers, different lengths, subtle changes in rhythm, but in doing so, has he diminished the clarity that once defined the delivery? The slower ball is most effective when it is simple, sharp, perfectly positioned and used less often. It is now occasionally located in a hittable area. Also, he uses it too often. Against RR, when he could bowl only 18 balls at most, he bowled 10 slow balls. Even an uncharacteristic six or seven times without the ball this season suggests a disruption in rhythm.

“He is not known for bowling a lot of off-balls. Trying new things is affecting his rhythm,” Gavaskar added.

For a control-oriented bowler, pace is everything.

There’s another inevitable factor: familiarity.

Bumrah is no longer an unknown quantity. His releases, his cues, his patterns have all been dissected by analysts and opposing captains and coaches through years of data and exposure. Batters no longer just react; They are expecting. In the hyper-analytical ecosystem of T20 cricket, even WeChat IDs can be decoded.

On a flat pitch, the margin of error is negligible. Slower balls that once resulted in mishits now move

Is it right to call this IPL the beginning of Bumrah’s decline?

Gavaskar wants to approach the issue with caution. “It only takes one or two games. Once he starts picking up wickets, he will be back on track.”

Bumrah has faced adaptation cycles before. When the yorker was picked, he took a tough approach. He turns to angles and seams as batsmen line them up. The slower pitch itself once came about as a reaction to batsmen becoming comfortable.

This may just be another one of these stages where the weapon has been read. Maybe it’s time for the holder to sharpen it again.

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The slower ball is bowled by Jasprit Bumrah