Why Jasprit Bumrah bowled three overs in power plays during Asia Cup 2025? Gautam Gambhir reveals

Gautam Gambhir said that Jasprit Bumrah’s three overs at the start helped them to win the powerplays.

Indian Cricket Team’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has opened up on the thought process behind handing three overs to Jasprit Bumrah in the powerplay in T20Is. He said that the plan helped them dominate the opposition teams at the start.

In T20Is, Bumrah usually bowls two overs in the power play and later returns in death to deliver his remaining overs. However, in Asia Cup 2025, he delivered three straight overs in the power play, a move that surprised many fans and former Indian cricketers. The same trend continued even in few games during the T20I series against Australia.

Across five games in the tournament, the right-arm pacer clinched seven wickets at an average of 19.29. The Suryakumar Yadav & Co. won Asia Cup 2025 by defeating Pakistan in the final on September 28 in Dubai. The Men in Blue were unbeaten in the entire campaign, winning seven games in a row.

We want to be recognised as an aggressive side overall: Gautam Gambhir

In an interview with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Gambhir revealed that handing three overs to Bumrah in the power play help India to showcase their aggressive bowling approach. He also added that the plan gave more freedom to spinners in the middle-overs.

“A lot of people associate this T20 team with aggressive batting. But I think using Jassi for three overs upfront was an even more aggressive option with the ball. We don’t want to be known only for our aggressive batting order. We want to be recognized as an aggressive side overall. We wanted to test that approach and see where it takes us,” he said.

“Bowling Jassi’s first three overs up front often helped us win the powerplay. That gave bowlers like Varun and Kuldeep the freedom to attack in the middle overs. It’s about creating pressure early so others can capitalise later. We want to play in the moment, respond to what’s happening right now, not think too far ahead to the 17th or 18th over. That’s how we’ll evolve as a team,” Gambhir added.

Meanwhile, India recently clinched a 2-1 victory against Australia in a five-match T20I series, which observed two games being washed out due to rain. With the win, the Men in Blue have maintained their unbeaten record in bilateral T20I series under captain Suryakumar Yadav and coach Gambhir.

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