Former Indian coach Abhishek Nayar opined that India's ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah will make a huge impact even on the black turning pitch of Eden Gardens. The first Test between India and South Africa is scheduled to begin on November 14 in Kolkata.
The Eden Gardens pitch is traditionally made of black soil, which generally offers more assistance to spinners. However, recent reports suggest that this time Gautam Gambhir and his team will get a more seamer-friendly surface, with spinners expected to come into play during the later stages of the match. Nayar's praise for Bumrah stood out, as he highlighted the pacer's rare ability to deliver match-winning performances regardless of the surface.
Speaking about Bumrah's workload management, Nayar was slightly critical, describing the pacer as lucky due to the washed-out matches in the T20I series against Australia. According to Nayar, the rain-affected games have inadvertently helped Bumrah remain fresh ahead of the upcoming first Test against South Africa.