"I think what puts people off is his limited run-up" - Michael Holding believes Jasprit Bumrah's stuttering run-up works in his favour 

Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding notes that the key to Jasprit Bumrah's success is his limited run-up and powerful action. The pacer has turned quite a few heads, especially at the start of his career, due to his unorthodox bowling action.

While biomechanics and health experts believe that the action will prove to be harmful to his body in the long term, Bumrah has relatively managed to stray away from any major injuries so far.

"I have tried the longer run-up and nothing changes ... so why to run so much?" 😆 📽️ India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah talks about his short run-up and bowling influences 👇 pic.twitter.com/rFXaowK8Yq

— ICC (@ICC) June 1, 2020

Holding believes that the short, stuttering run-up does not allow the batsmen to adjust quickly. He also pointed out the strong powerful action at the crease that produces the pace. While speaking to the Telegraph, Holding said:

"I think what puts people off is Bumrah’s limited run-up and his powerful strong action that produces the pace."

Bumrah's approach to the crease involves a long stride where he just walks, before bursting into rapid strides. He then takes a huge leap at the crease and bowls with a very wide release point, making it more difficult for the batsman to judge the delivery.

Batsmen would not find it as difficult if he bowled with a regular run up: Michael Holding

Holding stressed that it is the run-up that deceives the batsmen. He feels that if Bumrah bowls with a regular long run-up without the stutter at the start, he will not be as effective as he is now. He added:

“If he had a long rhythmical run-up and bowled with the same delivery action at the same pace, batsmen would not find it as difficult. Even Jeff Thomson and Lasith Malinga had ‘different’ actions, but they had a run-up through which batsmen could get some sort of rhythm from.”

Jasprit Bumrah rushes batsmen for pace despite a short and not so smooth run up. Made an attempt at highlighting the mechanics behind his pace. pic.twitter.com/P8e2pkViEd

— Cricket With Ash (@CricketWithAsh) September 8, 2021

Bumrah has found a lot of success with his method of bowling. He has evolved into a multi-format bowler after initially only being renowned as a death over bowling specialist, due to his innate ability to deliver yorkers on a consistent and accurate basis.

He had to wait for 2 years before being handed his Test cap after making his debut for India in white-ball formats in 2016 itself.