"Jasprit Bumrah hasn’t bowled these many full tosses" - Ex-Indian all-rounder surprised by star bowler's struggles in IND vs SA 2025 2nd T20I

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan was taken aback by Jasprit Bumrah's struggles in the second T20I against South Africa in Mullanpur on Thursday, December 11. Pathan said he hasn't seen the star pacer bowl as many full tosses as he did in the match.

Bumrah, known for taking wickets with the new ball and exceptional death bowling, had an off day, as he went wicketless for his 45 runs in four overs. His final over went for 18 runs as the Proteas piled on 213 in 20 overs to eventually win by 51 runs and level the five-match series 1-1.

Speaking in a recent video on his YouTube channel 'Irfan Pathan,' he questioned Bumrah's tactics, arguing that he should have bowled a lot more into the pitch since yorkers were hard to get right.

"Jasprit Bumrah hasn’t bowled these many full-tosses. When South Africa came onto bowl, they told themselves to bowl into the pitch and swing the ball. They also decided not to bowl yorkers if the ball is wet. Also, Indian batters were playing catch-up. But as an experienced bowler, I thought Bumrah should have used the pitch," he said. "He bowled plenty of full-tosses against Donovan Fereira and Arshdeep did too. I was in commentary and I kept asking can they bowl more into the pitch? They should have. Yorkers will be hard to bowl, especially when the ball is wet," Pathan added.

The 41-year-old warned that the Men in Blue may face similar conditions in the T20 World Cup next year and will need to bowl more into the pitch.

"The situation for South Africa was different as the ball was a lot more wet but they didn’t look to bowl yorkers. During World Cup, such a situation can come when the ball is wet and India are bowling. We should start bowling into the pitch in these cases," he concluded.

Bumrah's new-ball bowling partner Arshdeep Singh also struggled in Mullanpur on Thursday, conceding 54 runs in his four wicketless overs. The left-arm seamer bowled seven wides in his third over.

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"Powerplay was important but India lost quick wickets" - Irfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan. (Image Credits: Getty)

In the same video, Pathan said he wants the hosts to make a strong comeback in the third T20I. He also believes the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill will be sharply in focus due to their struggles.

"It was disappointing, given the way India played. Powerplay was important but India lost quick wickets and they fell behind. The expectation from India is to make a comeback and I reckon the third T20I will be a high-scoring contest," Pathan said. "I don’t see an extra spinner for that game and I think they will go for the same combination. But eyes will be on whether or not Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav score runs and the death-overs bowling," he added.

Dharamsala will host the third T20I against South Africa on Sunday, December 14.

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Edited by Parag Jain