India, Aug. 8 -- A disclaimer to open - this is not a roast of Jasprit Bumrah or a slur on his achievements or his abilities. Bumrah is one of Indian cricket's modern greats, a tri-format giant, with an impressive haul of wickets, from a superb set of performances leading to a superb set of numbers. Over 2024-25, Bumrah was outstanding in a largely un-outstanding BGT series for India. He is an self-starter elite sportsman, the thinking man's fast bowler, a jewel of the Indian game etcetc.

Acknowledged, no? Properly respectful and all?

What's happening around Bumrah now though is a tug-of-war of brand persona and performance impact from the recently concluded England v India Test series. Bumrah produced two impressive first-innings fifer...