Making his international return after nearly 11 months, Jasprit Bumrah is backing himself to make an impactful comeback starting with the three-T20I Ireland series. In the T20I series, he will be bowling a maximum of four overs per game but he is ready to bowl 10 to 15 overs after completing his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bengaluru.
"We were mindful of the fact there is no Test cricket till the ODI World Cup. In my rehab as well, I was not preparing for a T20 game. I was always preparing for the World Cup competition.
"I have been bowling 10, 12 and even 15 overs. So I have bowled more overs, that way it becomes easier when less bowling is required. We kept that in mind that we are preparing for one-day competition and not a four-over competition.
"I have lots of overs under my belt. You have to keep working your way up. From where you left, you are little down and you keep working your way up," Bumrah, who will make his T20I captaincy debut on August 18, told reporters.
On August 16, a video of Bumrah bowling in the Ireland surfaced on the internet.
"I don't really think about expectations. I just want to go enjoy the game as I have come after a long break. Never been away from the game this long. I am coming back to enjoy as I love this game.
"I am just the same guy (that I was 11 months ago). I always had a lot of belief. I understand I am coming back after a long lay off. I am very happy to be back. Been working really hard at the NCA. It has been a long road. The body feels good and looking forward to some game time," the 29-year-old said.
Bumrah has troubled batters with his slingy action and raw pace from the short run-up. However, pacers like West Indies' Michael Holding and Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar predicted that his action makes him injury prone.
Bumrah also recalled his time off when he got frustrated of waiting on the sidelines. However, he chose to look at the positives.
"When injury takes time to heal, it can be frustrating. Instead of having self doubt, I was thinking how to get fit and make a comeback.
"It is important to give the body time and respect. I never took it as a dark phase and thought my career could be over. I was looking for solutions and when solutions came I was feeling good.
"When you are facing an injury you are trying to solve that problem, not what the world is saying. I wanted to recuperate. You learn to enjoy the game a lot more. I looked it as an off season. So I got to spend time with family. So was looking at the positives. At the same time, I missed being away from action."
Bumrah also recalled that interacting with teammates helped him remain positive.
"I met a lot of players at NCA. Sometimes things are not in your control. The body needs time to recover and you need to respect.
"When you come back you have the hunger. When you are playing continuous cricket you don't know what an off season looks like. In this phase, as long as my physical restrictions were over I wanted to work on my fitness and bowling.
"I was following how the team was doing and (it) was good to meet the players," Bumrah added.
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