“I don't want to say any controversial statements and get my match fees deducted” - Jasprit Bumrah on Dukes ball controversy

Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah didn’t offer any comment on the condition of the Dukes ball on the second day of the Lord’s Test against England. Notably, the newly appointed Indian Test captain, Shubman Gill, argued with the umpires to change the ball as it wasn’t in a proper condition. However, umpires didn’t go ahead with the ball replacement. 

After this, India witnessed a loss in their momentum as Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse stitched an 84-run partnership for the eighth wicket. When Bumrah was asked to comment on India’s displeasure towards the ball, he didn’t comment on it, giving a funny response. 

“And the ball changes, I don't really control that. Obviously, I don't want to lose out on money because I work very hard and bowl a lot of overs, so I don't want to say any controversial statements and get my match fees deducted. But we, we were bowling with the ball that we were given, and that's how it is that we can't change it, we can't fight it. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes you get a bad ball. That's how it is,” said Bumrah in the post-match press conference.

Moreover, Bumrah, who scalped his 13th five-for away from home, also commented on Dukes' ball usually remaining hard on his previous tours for a long time. However, he asserted that the dry summer and hard surfaces are making the ball get softer quite soon this time around.

“More than the pitch, I feel the ball is a bit different because, on our previous tours here the ball was never changed it used to remain hard for a long time. Now, obviously, it's dry, it's summer — the wicket is also hard — so maybe that's why the ball is getting softer. But there's quite a bit of change in that. Like, I don’t even remember in the last couple of tours if we ever got the Dukes ball changed. So that’s a bit of a difference here. And this is a hard-ball game — when the ball is hard, there is some movement here, but as soon as it gets soft, it becomes a bit more beneficial for batting. So that seems to be the major difference between the last time and this time,” he added.

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