Jasprit Bumrah, the top Test bowler in the world, is excited to bowl with Dukes balls in England’s swinging conditions during the upcoming tour. This tour will kick off with a practice match on June 13 and the first Test in Leeds on June 20. He mentioned that the main challenge will come when the ball starts to soften.
“Competing in England always presents a unique challenge,” Bumrah shared with former Australian captain Michael Clarke on the Beyond23 cricket YouTube channel. “I really enjoy bowling with the Dukes ball.
“However, I’m not sure how much movement the Dukes ball will have right now since it often changes. The weather and swinging conditions play a big role, and once the ball gets soft, it becomes tough. I always look forward to playing in England.”
This upcoming Test series marks Bumrah’s third time playing in England, where he has taken 37 wickets in eight matches (not counting the 2021 World Test Championship final), with an average of 23.78 and a strike rate of 51.9.
He also noted that his fellow fast bowlers—Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Arshdeep Singh—are all capable of taking down opponents, especially against aggressive teams like England.
Bumrah mentioned, “They play a unique style of cricket that I find intriguing, even though I don’t fully grasp it.” He added, “As a bowling group, we always feel sure that when the batsmen are really aggressive, anyone can step up and take wickets on any given day.”
The five Test matches in England are scheduled over 46 days from June 20 to July 4 and will take place in Leeds, Birmingham, Lord’s, Manchester, and The Oval. However, Bumrah may not participate in all five Tests since chief selector Ajit Agarkar has discussed managing his workload.
With a busy calendar for his team and the T20 World Cup set for February 2026—co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka—coming up in the next nine months, Bumrah stated that he will play all three formats but will choose specific games to keep himself fit.
“It’s challenging for anyone to keep playing everything for such a long time,” he explained. “I’ve been doing it for a while now, but eventually you need to listen to your body and recognize which tournaments are most important.”
“You have to be a bit selective and smart about how you care for your body. As a cricketer, I want to give my all and keep going. But I don’t set goals or focus on numbers because whenever I’ve tried to do that, I haven’t succeeded.
Instead, I just aim to enjoy the game because that’s why I started playing. I take it one day at a time and gather memories because that’s what I’ll cherish once my sports career is over.”
