India vs Afghanistan 1st T20I: Teenage prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is set to play his first international match on home soil as India and Afghanistan face each other in a three-match T20I series in Delhi. However, before the 15-year-old could face the Afghan bowlers, he had to deal with Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian national cricket team nets. Bumrah, at his best, is arguably the most lethal bowler to face. However, this was not the usual Bumrah. The right-arm pacer employed a new-look run-up in the nets.
IND vs AFG T20Is: Jasprit Bumrah Troubles Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in Nets
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was in the middle of a gruelling net session as he faced Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the first T20I between India and Afghanistan. Practicing at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the left-handed batter was kept on his toes by the star pacer. Sooryavanshi, who is known for his ability to strike fear into bowlers’ minds, played and missed multiple balls from Bumrah.
It was a baptism by fire for the young batter, with balls seaming into him and then swinging away after pitching. Reportedly, Sooryavanshi missed the first two balls from Bumrah. The 32-year-old then bowled a trademark yorker, which the teenage batter barely managed to dig out.
Sooryavanshi, who is coming into this series on the back of the Duleep Trophy 2026, had some struggles in fielding drills as well. The 15-year-old was part of the East Zone team that defeated South Zone in the final of the tournament.
Jasprit Bumrah Tries Out New Run-Up
Jasprit Bumrah is known as much for the eccentricities of his run-up as he is for the success he has had with it. The right-arm pacer bowls with a rather unusually short run-up in comparison to other fast bowlers. However, ahead of the first T20I between India and Afghanistan, Bumrah was seen practicing with a rather unusually long run-up.
According to a report from Cricinfo, Bumrah was seen bowling with a run-up that is a third longer than his usual run-up. There were times when he began his run-up right from where Arshdeep Singh begins his. The 32-year-old veteran was seen bowling in the nets along with Arshdeep, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Yash Thakur.
It is yet to be seen whether Bumrah will deploy this longer run-up to international cricket against Afghanistan or not. Meanwhile, in the past, many former cricketers, including fast bowlers, have suggested tweaking Bumrah’s run–up to possibly extend his playing career. Whether this change will help the Team India star or not will be seen in future games.
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Pragun is a passionate cricket follower and writer who deeply loves the game. Having completed his education with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he has an experience of almost two years in diverse fields. He is known for his statistical and analytical articles. Pragun tries to bring life to his articles by adding a layer of enthusiasm from the perspective of a hardcore fan. Apart from writing cricket articles, he sometimes appears on YouTube videos on a friend’s podcast.
