- June 24, 2025
It is fair to say that when Jasprit Bumrah speaks of bowling, the cricketing world listens – not only because he is taking apart batting line-ups. After taking five wickets in the first innings of the 2025 Leeds Test against England, Bumrah shared his one-of-a-kind approach to bowling and gave fans insight into one of cricket’s most difficult fast bowlers. If you have wondered what makes Bumrah’s swing so deadly, then you’re in luck; this blog will reveal his secrets, style, and why even the best batsmen struggle to read him.
Flick, Not Finger: The Magic of Bumrah’s Bowling Grip
The majority of fast bowlers depend on their index fingers to control the ball’s movement in the air. Bumrah? He’s playing by different rules. He confessed in a recent interview that he is not using the index finger; he is using the big finger flick.
What does this mean? Bumrah does not change his arm angle too much; his bowling action is quite consistent. He creates either an inswing or an outswing by flicking a big finger. There was what looked like an invisible weapon going unnoticed, but very effective.
This finger-flick approach makes Bumrah’s deliveries extremely difficult to read. If his arm path stays the same, batters can’t read the movement of the ball early through the reading of his action. The result? After watching hours of footage, they’re still completely befuddled.
Why Bumrah’s Bowling Style is a Nightmare for Batters
Steven Finn, a former England pacer, summed it nicely when he remarked that batters could watch every available video of Bumrah, but they would still be surprised on match day. That’s the sign of a great bowler: unpredictability. Bumrah delivers with the same arm angle and same finger grip all the time, so the batter has no “tells”.
Imagine playing a hand of poker with someone who had the same poker face for every hand. You have no information or clues, so you can only react when the cards are revealed. That is what it must feel like to a batter facing Bumrah.
It is not about the swing only. Bumrah’s action is equally as effective in creating differing angles; he combines a short run-up with a sudden explosive delivery stride (and high speed), to create awkward angles that batsmen have to think through. It’s like he is a bowling ninja preparing for one perfect strike and exploding on the scene with a holy mat batman, “What just happened?” I mean, batsmen have problems before figuring out how to find the ball to hit it; they are adding the thought of finding the ball within that angle element to it.
Matching Legends and Setting New Standards
Bumrah’s five-wicket haul in Leeds was not just a great performance; it took him level with Indian great Kapil Dev for the most five-fors away from home (12). That’s elite company. And considering Bumrah’s style is so different from traditional fast bowlers, this milestone speaks volumes about how effective his methods are.
Even more astounding is that Bumrah has created this style after years of trial and error. He admits that he stumbled onto his big finger flick because when you have that unique action, you can’t change the arm part! Now that is adaptability at its best – playing to your strengths, even if it is slightly unorthodox!
Would you try Bumrah’s big finger flick if you were a young fast bowler? Share your views and let’s geek out over cricket’s phenomenal tricks!
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