Neeraj Chopra Advises Jasprit Bumrah to Lengthen his ‘Pace Bowling’

Neeraj Chopra, India’s top javelin thrower, has offered some advice to Indian cricket team fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah on how he can increase his pace. In a recent interaction, the Olympic gold medalist and reigning world champion expressed his admiration for Bumrah’s unique bowling action and suggested that lengthening his run-up could help him generate more speed. Neeraj shared that javelin throwers often discuss cricket and bowling techniques, and this observation came up during one of their discussions.

“I like Jasprit Bumrah, I find his action unique. I feel he should lengthen his run-up to add more pace. As a javelin thrower, we often discuss how bowlers can increase their pace if they start their run-up from a little further back. I like Bumrah’s style,” Neeraj said during the Indian Express Idea Exchange.

Neeraj had the opportunity to witness the Cricket World Cup 2023 final between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Reflecting on the game, he shared his experience and provided some insights.

“This was the first time I watched a match fully. When I was on the flight, India had already lost three wickets. Virat (Kohli) bhai and KL Rahul were batting when I arrived. There are some technical things that I don’t understand. Batting in the daytime wasn’t very easy,” Neeraj recalled.

“In the evening, I think batting became easy. But our guys tried. Sometimes, it’s just not our day. But, frankly, everyone had a great tournament,” he added.

Speaking about the final, Chopra emphasized that the mentality played a crucial role, with Australia having a stronger mindset.

“Maybe, somewhere mentally, the Australian team held an edge at the start. When they bowled, I found they had a strong mindset. In the end, they had completely flipped it over. They were confident about their game,” Neeraj explained.

Neeraj’s advice to Bumrah comes from his expertise in javelin throwing and his observations on how run-up length can impact a bowler’s pace. While Bumrah already has a unique style, it remains to be seen if he takes Neeraj’s suggestion into consideration in order to further enhance his performance on the cricket field.