Kapil Dev questions Jasprit Bumrah's longevity: ‘Can he sustain it for 10-12 years?’

"His action is not like an athlete's action; that's why Bumrah can be devastating for the opposition," Dev said.

One of the best fast bowlers of this generation is undoubtedly Jasprit Bumrah. He may be acclaimed as the best Indian pacer to have ever played international cricket by the end of his career.

The legendary former seam bowling all-rounder Kapil Dev gave an explanation of why Bumrah is so hard for opposing batters to select. The former India captain claims that the hitters are caught off guard by Bumrah’s ability to bowl rapidly with a short run-up. Dev questioned whether the Gujarati seamer’s distinct run-up and action would allow him to persist for an extended period of time.

“Two things are consistently revealed. Like Malinga, any bowler in the world who has an awkward action makes it extremely tough for a hitter to pick the ball. Dev stated on The Squirrels YouTube channel, “There are those bowlers that we don’t practise in the nets, and then all of a sudden, someone comes with a different action, a difficult action, and that fraction of a second, if you can’t pick what he’s trying to do, that is good enough for a bowler.”

“So, Jasprit Bumrah has improved greatly because, from the perspective of a batter, no one could have predicted that he could generate such a large pace in such a short run-up. Jasprit Bumrah can be extremely damaging to the opposition since his action differs from that of an athlete. However, as a cricket player, we believe it is challenging for him to maintain it for ten or twelve years,” he continued.

Jasprit Bumrah has struggled with injuries in the past.

He just suffered a stress fracture to his back while competing for the Border-Gavaskar series trophy in 2024–25. The 31-year-old was forced to miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Champions Trophy and the Mumbai Indians’ opening games. Bumrah only appeared in three of the five Test matches during the just finished England trip.

Bumrah may be rested for the October home Test series against the West Indies and may play in the forthcoming Asia Cup in September, according to sources.