The Indian cricket team will face England for a five-match Test series, starting from August 1 Edgbaston, Birmingham and Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah cannot wait to be a part of the playing XI. He missed out on the limited-over series against England due to a thumb injury that he sustained during the Ireland T20I but was named in the 18-member Test squad. However, he will be available for selection from the 2nd Test onwards. Ahead of the Test series, Jasprit Bumrah shed some light on the morale of the Indian cricket team and what does Test cricket mean to him.
With the 2019 ICC World Cup less than a year away, Jasprit Bumrah spoke about how close the team is.
"The team, as a unit, is very close. Everybody is really happy. Everybody is enjoying each other's success. There is no jealousy. Everybody is happy when the team is doing well," Jasprit Bumrah was quoted as saying by the official website of the Mumbai Indians.
"We've done well in the past two-three years. There are no individual goals that a specific player wants to achieve. It's a team goal. The team is shaping up really well for the World Cup too," Bumrah further added.
Bumrah made his Test debut against South Africa earlier this year and was happy to finally play Test for India.
"I always wanted to play Test cricket. My longtime dream was to play Tests. I was happy when I finally got to play it in South Africa," the right-arm pacer said.
"The start also went well. I always loved Test cricket and I rate it very highly. I enjoy playing each and every format but for me, Test cricket is at the paramount level because I feel everything is tested at that level," Bumrah added.
Talking about his preparation for the England Test series, Bumrah said, "I never plan according to the tour or I don't have any personal goals. I take it one day at a time. If there's a practice session, I just focus on the practice session."
On being asked about the transition from white ball cricket to red ball cricket, Jasprit spoke about the importance of simplicity, "For me basically, I like to keep things simple. Not to complicate things because as you play a lot more, you tend to complicate things."
"So, what I try to do is -- keep things simple. As a bowler, I know what my strengths are. If I know that I'm very accurate, I will try to focus on it. I always believe that if I'm backing my strength, I'll be able to do well be it in India or in any other country."