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Two-time Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra has recently identified an Indian cricketer who he believes could be successful in the sport of javelin throw. Surprisingly, his choice was the prominent fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. Chopra revealed his pick during a special segment on Star Sports hosted by Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Neeraj Chopra picks Jasprit Bumrah as India's best javelin prospect
India’s celebrated javelin star stated confidently that Jasprit Bumrah has the potential to excel in javelin throw. He explained that fast bowlers inherently possess the required strength, body coordination, and technique necessary for the sport. Chopra believes that a fit and strong Bumrah would be an ideal candidate to take up javelin throw if he were not already a successful cricketer.
"I think it would be a fast bowler for sure. So, I think a fully fit Jasprit Bumrah will be good at it," Chopra said on Star Sports.
Bumrah recently played in the first Test match against England at Headingley. He delivered an outstanding performance in the first innings, achieving his 14th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. However, he was unable to take any wickets in the second innings as England successfully chased down a target of 371 runs. Ben Duckett's brilliant innings of 149 led England to a remarkable victory, achieving one of the highest successful fourth-innings chases in Test history. This win gave England a 1-0 lead in the ongoing five-match Test series, with the second Test scheduled to be held in Birmingham starting from July 2.
Jasprit Bumrah has been a vital bowler for India, consistently delivering impactful performances. Since the beginning of 2024, Bumrah has taken 78 wickets in just 15 Test matches, which is more than any other fast bowler globally during this period. However, this workload has also seen him bowl a significant 410.4 overs, the highest among all pacers worldwide. Australia’s Mitchell Starc is second on this list, but he has bowled considerably fewer overs (362.3). England’s emerging pacer Gus Atkinson has taken 54 wickets in the same period but has bowled only 328 overs, nearly 80 overs less than Bumrah. Among Indian bowlers, only Ravindra Jadeja (400.1 overs) has crossed the 400-over mark. Mohammed Siraj, who has played the same number of matches as Bumrah, has bowled 355.3 overs. With Bumrah likely to be rested for workload management purposes, Siraj is expected to lead the pace attack at Edgbaston. However, his performance in the Headingley Test was not particularly impressive.
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