5 bowlers unlucky to have born during Jasprit Bumrah's time

Jasprit Bumrah

"I think he's (Jasprit Bumrah) is there to stay for a long time." - Allan Donald

Impressed with the accuracy, pace, and skills, Allan could not resist heaping praise on Jasprit Bumrah, who was a thorn in the Proteas flesh throughout India's tour over there.

2016 was the year it all changed for Jasprit Bumrah. Making his ODI debut against Australia, he claimed two wickets for just 40 runs. Three days later, he made his T20 debut as well, against the same opponent. It was the time when India was looking for a death overs specialist, and they soon realized that Jasprit was perfect for this job.

After becoming a vital cog in India's limited overs team, Jasprit proved his mettle in tests as well, claiming 14 wickets in three matches in his debut test series against South Africa. He continued dominating batsmen in England and Australia as well, claiming 14 and 21 wickets in both countries respectively. He played a vital role in India's first ever series win down under.

2018 saw India touring three countries, and winning five of the nine series in total. And it was Jasprit Bumrah who was captain Virat Kohli's go-to man in all these tours. Bumrah delivered whenever the team needed. He played the same role for the Mumbai Indians as well. In a year, where MI struggled to find the rhythm, it was only Bumrah who delivered and saved the team from humiliation in most games.

His fabulous year saw him bag numerous titles. He is now on the top of the ICC bowlers' rankings. He won the Indian Sports Honours Men's Breakthrough Performance of the Year Award. In addition to this, he also won Sportstar Aces Sportsman of the Year (Cricket) award, which he shared with Kohli.

Bumrah's outstanding journey might have been a speed breaker for other bowlers. Let us take a look at some of those talented players, who might be affected due to his rise.

#1 Shardul Thakur

Shardul Thakur

Although Shardul Thakur made his debut after Bumrah (in 2018), he has not found a rhythm due to the latter. He has been made to play against weaker teams only, as a substitute to Jasprit Bumrah.

Shardul has been phenomenal in the last two seasons. He played a very important role in guiding Chennai Super Kings to their IPL title victory last year, claiming 16 wickets in 13 matches. He provided Dwayne Bravo with perfect support from the other end during the death overs. Not to anyone's surprise, he has been retained for this season as well.

Shardul played his last international match in October 2018. This was also his debut test match. However, he could bowl only 10 balls before getting injured and taken off. He has now recovered and has been in good form for a while now.

Playing for Mumbai in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he has 14 scalps in the last 10 matches. However, the impressive form of Bumrah has prevented him from making a comeback to the team.

#2 Sandeep Sharma

Sandeep Sharma

The last five IPL seasons have been unbelievable for this 25-year-old youngster. Playing for the Kings XI Punjab, Sandeep Sharma grabbed 18 wickets in 11 matches in the 2014 season. After a successful time with the Kings, which saw him bag 71 wickets in just five seasons, he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2018 IPL mega auctions.

In 2018, he continued from where he had left off. He bagged 12 wickets in 12 matches but conceded runs only at an economy of 7.73 runs per over. He joined hand with Bhubhneshwar Kumar and Siddharth Kaul to ensure that Sunrisers defended even the most modest of totals, some of which were below 120.

Despite his constant good performances in the IPL, Sandeep hasn't been called up for India. He is a renowned player now, but he is being ignored by the selectors because of the supremacy of Bumrah. He needs to work harder if he is to have any chance of finding a place in this Indian team.

#3 Basil Thampi

Basil Thampi

IPL 2017 was a dream come true for 25-year-old Basil Thampi. He was bought by Gujarat Lions at a mammoth price of Rs 85 lakhs and he totally justified his selection, by picking up 11 wickets in the tournament and emerged as the main bowler of the team, despite the presence of big stars such as Dhawal Kulkarni and Praveen Kumar. He eventually won the Emerging Player Award that season as well.

His splendid outing in that season attracted the attention of other franchises as well, and he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2018 season at a price of Rs 95 lakhs. However, he could not get his rhythm going and could manage only five wickets in that season.

However, despite excellent performances in domestic cricket and IPL, he hasn't been able to find a way into the Indian team. Constant injuries have also prevented him from giving his best.

#4 Harshal Patel

Harshal Patel has been a constant performer for Haryana in domestic cricket. He has 174 wickets in First Class from 96 innings and 70 in the 48 List A innings. However, it is his inconsistency that has prevented him from making it to the national side.

He has had a dry patch since IPL 2015, where he had taken 17 wickets. The 28-year-old has only 11 wickets in the past three seasons. However, he has been on a path of redemption for a while now. He finished with 22 wickets in nine matches in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy.

He will be playing for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2019, who showed faith and retained him even after a bad IPL 2018 and fans can expect better performances from a much better Patel. If he wants to play for the national team though, he needs to find some consistency, and improve his skills, mainly bowling during death overs.

#5 Dhawal Kulkarni

Dhawal Kulkarni

After an outstanding IPL 2016, where he had 18 scalps to his name in 14 matches, Dhawal Kulkarni lost form completely. He only had seven wickets in the span of the next two seasons, and he leaked almost 9.5 runs per over.

However, the 30-year-old has been on a path of redemption since that. He has 11 wickets to his name in seven matches in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He has played 14 international matches for India (12 ODIs and 2 T20Is), and he has lived up to the expectations of the team as well. He has 19 scalps in ODIs and two in T20Is.

However, it is the loss of form, that has kept him out of the frame for a national call-up. One good IPL season might open the doors of glory for him. He has been retained by Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2019, and he will hope to perform as per his talent.