Jasprit Bumrah is back, and he has not missed a beat

August 18, 2023, Malahide, it has been 327 days since Jasprit Bumrah last turned out for India in any format. The anticipation and excitement, as he walks out for the toss is, unsurprisingly, palpable.

India, like they do almost always, are enjoying tremendous support in Ireland. Most of those fans, though, are here to watch just one man in action – and that is Bumrah. Not just because of how much cricket he has missed, or how he remains a generational talent, even after all the string of injuries. But because of how important he is to this Indian team, and how India’s World Cup hopes perhaps still hinge on the pacer.

The first act Bumrah has to indulge in is a coin flip (yes, he is making his return to the international fold as India captain). He wins it, and invites Ireland to bat, citing the weather around and the fact that the pitch had been under covers because of all the rain.

Half an hour later, he has the new ball in his hand, setting his sights on Andrew Balbirnie - one of the best batters Ireland have produced in recent years. The excitement, which was already palpable before the toss, has now reached manic proportions.

It is almost as if all the fans are muttering their prayers in unison, hoping that their premier fast bowler will not get injured anytime soon, while also wondering just how much oomph his bowling has retained. Back injuries, and stress fractures, in particular, are supposed to break fast bowlers’ resolve, after all.

It is, thus, anti-climactic that the pacer spears his first ball onto Balbirnie’s pads. The former Ireland skipper accepts that offering gleefully and tucks it away through square leg to welcome the pacer back to international cricket.

The cameras, as soon as the ball hits the fence, turn to the India captain (of course, they do). Walking back, he has a wry smile on his face. The sort of smirk that possibly hints at relief – relief that he is back doing what he loves most.

Underneath that, though, there is a quieter realisation that there are no gimmies or freebies in international cricket.

Every wicket has to be earned. Every ball is an event. And every time you put on that India shirt, the expectations (for good or for bad) are going to be unforgiving.

Jasprit Bumrah picked up two wickets on his return

Once that has settled in, Bumrah does Bumrah things. He bowls the ball on a length outside off. It nips back in sharply and Balbirnie, like many before him, does not really account for the movement.

A loose stab away from his body and all he manages is an inside-edge – a deflection that crashes into off stump.

The trademark Bumrah celebration is out, and in a trice, the anti-climax of the first ball metamorphoses into ecstasy.

This is what thousands had come to watch in Malahide, and what millions watching at home had been craving for. And now, all of it was coming to reality, just like they thought it would, and just like it usually happens when Bumrah is bowling.

In that very over, the pacer accounts for Lorcan Tucker too. The wicketkeeper-batter, who is not shy of throwing caution to the wind, tries to outwit the India captain and shapes up for the scoop. The only problem, though, is that Bumrah has read his intentions like the morning daily.

The rest of the fast bowler’s opening spell is just as probing. He keeps badgering that hard length and rarely allows the batters to settle into a rhythm. The swing wears away (because hey, it is white-ball cricket) but the Indian skipper keeps the batters guessing.

Bumrah then returns for another salvo, late into the innings. By that time, Barry McCarthy and Curtis Campher have put together a decent stand and are threatening to tee off. To Campher’s credit, he does hit a four and a six off the pacer’s third over.

Bumrah, though, comes back in the fourth over. He always does.

McCarthy, especially in the last five overs, was severe on almost every Indian bowler. Everyone apart from the India captain. He simply could not come to grips with his variations, and kept slogging wildly.

That over, apart from illustrating how McCarthy was perhaps not watching the bowler’s hand as closely as he should have, also highlighted how Bumrah has that knack of remaining a step ahead of the batters.

Whenever McCarthy thought the pacer would bowl full and go for the yorker, he bluffed him with a slower back-of-a-length delivery. After three back of a length deliveries, he then zipped one into the blockhole – a delivery McCarthy only just managed to dig out.

And this particular sequence, more than anything else on Friday, emphasised why Bumrah is special and so tough to replace. Not many have that ability to think ahead, yet, not get too ahead of themselves.

Of course, it remains to be seen how his body copes and how he manages this workload of playing three T20Is in less than a week.

He also seems to be running in harder into his delivery stride and seemed to have a more pronounced follow-through – things that might take strain off the back but put more pressure on the body in general.

There is the Asia Cup to follow too, and that will test just how ready his body really is for the rigours of ODI cricket.

For now, though, it is about rejoicing Bumrah’s return to the international circuit, and just revelling in the generational talent he is. He is back, and he has not missed a beat.

Not a lot of cricketers who miss 327 days of cricket are able to do that. But then again, they are not Bumrah.