T20 World Cup semifinal: Jasprit Bumrah should strike before England can find its rhythm, says Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar, the first batter to cross the 10,000-run mark in Test cricket, believes Jasprit Bumrah’s genius lies not merely in pace or precision, but in perpetual evolution — and wants India to unleash that mastery early in Thursday’s (March 5, 2026) Men’s T20 World Cup semifinal against England at the Wankhede Stadium.

“What you see with Jasprit Bumrah is the little additions he keeps making to his repertoire,” Gavaskar said. “When he started, he was predominantly an inswing bowler to right-handers and took it away from left-handers. But in England in 2018, he showed he could move it into the left-hander and away from the right-hander. Since then — the slow bouncer, the slow yorker — he just keeps adding something.”

Gavaskar spoke at a media interaction ahead of the DP World Celebrity Golf Event, to be held here on March 6, to create awareness on the CHAMPS Foundation. The foundation supports retired international sportspersons in India across disciplines who struggle to make ends meet in latter years.

For Gavaskar, the real enigma is not just variety, but disguise.

“Most bowlers give you some little sign — a shrug of the shoulder, a flick of the shirt — something that tells you what’s coming. Like Andre Agassi (the tennis great) wrote about picking Boris Becker’s serve from the position of his tongue,” he said. “But Bumrah gives you nothing. No change in run-up, no change in action. And because he goes wide on the crease, you think it’s coming in — and it moves away. That’s why he’s been so devastating in all three formats.”

Bumrah, who completed a decade in international cricket in January, showed that edge again with a decisive double-wicket over against West Indies at Eden Gardens during Sunday’s must-win fixture. Yet under Suryakumar Yadav, he has often been held back to control the middle overs rather than strike up front.

Gavaskar would prefer a rethink. “I think he should bowl at least two overs in the Power Play,” he said. “If he can get Joss Buttler, Phil Salt or Harry Brook early, he’s pretty much broken the back of England’s batting.”

The logic, Gavaskar argued, is simple. “Why bring him on after four overs when the batters have faced 8-10 deliveries and settled in? Wouldn’t it be better for Bumrah to bowl to them first and get them out?”

In a knockout where margins will be microscopic, Gavaskar’s prescription is clear: let India’s most unreadable weapon strike before England can find its rhythm.