England opener Ben Duckett is not perturbed about the potential challenge of facing Jasprit Bumrah in the upcoming five-match Test series against India. Duckett said he has the experience of facing Bumrah in the red-ball format and knows what the gun-fast bowler brings to the table.
The left-hander admitted that Mohammed Shami is as threatening as Bumrah in Test cricket and he could get a big score against India if he can get through the opening spell of the duo.
Bumrah is currently the number one Test bowler in the ICC rankings and he scalped 32 wickets in five Test matches against Australia at an average of 13.06. On the 2021 tour of England, Bumrah bagged 18 wickets in four Test matches at an impressive average of 20.84.
Ben Duckett said on Daily Mail, “I’ve faced him in a five-Test series before. I know what he’s going to do to me, and the good thing about that is I know what skills he has. There’s going to be nothing that surprises me. It’s going to be challenging, and the red-ball skills of Mohammed Shami are just as threatening as Bumrah’s. But if I can get through that opening spell, I feel there are runs to be had. India at home is very different to India away. It’s a side I feel we should beat and we can beat. It’ll be a good series.”
On the other hand, Duckett was criticized by many cricket boffins after he said that they don’t mind losing 3-0 to India as long as they beat them in the Champions Trophy trophy. England could not even qualify for the semifinal stages after suffering losses against Australia, Afghanistan, and South Africa. However, Duckett clarified his comments, stating they were looking at the bigger picture.
“All I was saying was that the ODI series in India was kind of done, and if we lose this next game I would certainly take that if it meant beating India in the final of the Champions Trophy. Sure, that didn’t happen, but I wanted to point out we had bigger ambitions for that trip than just that series.”
The southpaw scored 227 runs in three matches of the Champions Trophy and ended as England’s highest run-getter.
