Revealed: The Exact Process Jasprit Bumrah Follows to Select a Match Ball

In the game of cricket, the skill of bowling requires a lot of understanding of the science behind the making process of the ball, along with the talent of the bowler, which goes hand in hand and helps the bowler to do well on the pitch. In recent years, batters have ruled the world of T20 cricket, but it can also be seen that bowlers have been using different strategies and preparing well to combat the domination of batters in the shortest format of the game.

As the season of T20 cricket is on with the T20 World Cup 2026 underway, social media is filled with cricket-related content on and off the field scenes around the World Cup and teams preparing for the matches. Ahead of India's second match of the World Cup against Namibia, the ICC released a reel on Jasprit Bumrah ball selection process on its Instagram page, where he was seen explaining how he selects the ball before the start of any match.

How Jasprit Bumrah Selects Ball Before Match?

The process of Jasprit Bumrah ball selection has been simply explained by the best bowler in the world himself, which shows his bowling strategy. He has seen a lot of times selecting the ball before any game, depicting him as the bowling captain of the team. Here are the following steps of how Jasprit Bumrah selects ball before any international match, which helps Bumrah bowling strategy to do well in the match:

Step 1: Size of the Ball

The yorker king starts the process of selecting a ball by checking the size of the ball by placing a number of balls in his left hand before selecting the final one to get that ball which feels slightly smaller in his palm. This allows him to get a better grip and comfort level over the ball while bowling, leading to positive results in his bowling.

Step 2: Wider Seam

The requirement of the wider seam on the ball by Jasprit Bumrah is mainly due to the comfort level for any bowler, and can also help in getting conventional swing early on. This need of wider seam will also help all the bowlers in the team, from pacers to spinners.

Step 3: Seam Stays Straight When Thrown

The final check before selecting the ball is getting the seam straight when it is thrown in the air. This allows bowlers to check the even balance of the ball, which will eventually help in better bowling in the match.

Why Ball Selection is Crucial for Fast Bowlers?

A perfect ball selection by the bowling team in a match is crucial for fast bowlers, especially in white-ball cricket, where help from the ball is comparatively less than in red-ball cricket. In almost every match being played, it could be seen that the pacers are opening the bowling for the team and not the spinners, except a few times when the pitch favours them.

The selected ball by the team allows the fast bowlers to get exactly what they want with the ball, including a balanced seam, which will help the pacers to do most of their job in the initial overs with the help of the ball. It will also help the pacers to do well in death overs as well.