During day 2 of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, Jasprit Bumrah left with what seemed like a serious injury. A lot of speculation was cast on if he actually would come back into the game after he was seen without his jersey on. Some even going to the extent of saying he might be out for the rest of the series. And as anyone can imagine that left a lot of doubt and worry for the management as well as the fan base. Thankfully all of that was put to rest as Bumrah was seen coming back to the dressing room and he even showcased his fitness by having a quick run up the stair case while the cameras were on him for a brief period of time. Even though all was well, the question has to be asked, “What will life be like after Bumrah?”
As of today, he is 31 years old and there is little no chance he will be around for anymore major ICC tournaments for the men in blue past 2027. Although he might be able to get a chance in the 2028 t20 World Cup, it will all depend on when it’s played and his overall fitness at that time. The problem is the lifespan of pace bowlers in today’s game is pretty short compared to batsman and/or all rounders. Not to mention the example that’s currently being made out of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja. All of whom are being slowly cast out of each format of the game despite being between the ages of 35 to 37 years old. The last two players who made it past this range were Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni, who both retired at the age of 39. The only difference during that time and now is that India have a crop of young players to select from and unlike back then a lot of these guys have already made a name for themselves in the IPL or by playing some games for the country already in certain formats of the game. Taking all these factors into account, it is next to impossible for even the likes of a bowler like Bumrah to play past the age of 35 or 36 years old and have a reasonable impact for the team. So if it’s not for the man himself, who are some young bowlers right now that can one day take his place?
1. Arshdeep Singh
This should come as no surprise as Arshdeep Singh has been the go to bowler for India for quite sometime now. Although he’s mainly been featured in the t20 format of the game, it will only be a matter of time before he makes his presence felt in the other two formats of the game. At only 25 years old, he’s already got a major ICC trophy under his belt. If that wasn’t enough, he was also the leading wicket taker for India ahead of Bumrah and he was tied for the most wickets taken in the whole entire tournament with a whopping 17 wickets! Unlike in the most recent era of bowlers that preceded him that boasted the likes of Siraj, Kumar, and Shami, he does quite literally stand out physically as he’s right around 6 feet 3 inches tall. With him at helm, the future for Indian pace-bowling does indeed look very much bright!
2. Harshit Rana
Second on this list is a very young promising talent, who is coming fresh off a title win with the Kolkata Knight Riders. He also got to play alongside Mitchell Starc, who is going to go down as of the best fast bowlers Australia has ever produced. This makes for an interesting case as Harshit’s role of playing the apprentice ,similar to what Darth Vader was to Emperor Palpatine, could pay off dividends for the rest of his career. It wasn’t too long ago when Lasith Malinga mentored Bumrah during his time with the Mumbai Indians while also being at the height for his career. The same could be said for the situation in KKR currently between these two. The cool thing is they already have developed a winning culture, which can be very beneficial moving forward. Rana’s arrival in the international scene is much anticipated and it may not be too long before he takes the reins as the spearhead bowler for the country maybe even over Arshdeep Singh one day.
3. Mohsin Khan
Somewhat of a dark horse candidate mainly due to the injury setbacks in his career so far. However he had quite a lethal run in the 2022 IPL season where he collected 14 wickets while maintaining a stunning 5.97 economy rate! The only knock on him was this past season where his performance took a dip but that’s understandable considering the fact that it’s his first season back after being injured. At only 26 years old, he’s got a lot of cricket to be played out in front of him. He does a share a similar physicalties to Arshdeep Singh with his height, maybe the only difference being the fact that he has a bit more muscle to his frame, but this is expected as he’s almost 3 years older than him. Hopefully, he can be back to his peak again in the next coming years as he can be a very valuable asset for Indian cricket for years to come.
4.Mayank Yadav
Dubbed as one of the speed demons of the IPL, Mayank Yadav has made his rounds through social media and the world of cricket as fans are keen on comparing his rise to SuryaKumar Yadav’s except with bowling ofcourse. And although he has an uncanny resemblance to him, he’s still a long way from proving that. He’s been apart of a dying breed of fast bowlers that has resembled the likes of guys like Brett Lee, who relied on their sheer pace to take down opposing teams. It’s still too early to determine if he can be the go to bowler for India in the future, but he certainly has a liking towards a career in red ball cricket and maybe one of the two shorter formats of the game internationally. If he can look to be more dynamic and expand his game a bit, he definitely will be in the discussion for the national selection committee moving forward.
5.Kartik Tyagi
In 2020, Kartik Tyagi seemed prime to have a run in the IPL, however after going uncapped in the 2025 IPL Auction, his chances of going far in international cricket are getting grimmer. He falls in the same category of bowlers like Ishan Porel who never could really find his footing in the IPL either. A situation that might be similar to theirs and hold some hope for their international careers is by taking the example of someone like Washington Sundar who also doesn’t have a strong track record in the IPL. One big difference is that there is not as much competition for his position as a spin-bowling all-rounder compared to the pace bowling department.
Honorable Mentions:
Ishan Porel
Avesh Khan
Prasidh Krishna
As seen above there are some names outside of the five that can be in the mix as well. Something that should be noted though is that Avesh Khan and Prasidh Krishna are nearing 30 years old, so to be considered a replacement for Bumrah might be a bit too bold of a statement at this stage of their careers. Irregardless they still have something to offer now and that should definitely be taken advantage of. While the worry of a Bumrah-less Indian team can be frightening, they should be well assured by now that the future will be in good hands. Is there anybody else that should be considered moving forward that was left off this list?