Birthday special: Jasprit Bumrah – India’s bowling superstar
Not many would have expected to see Jasprit Bumrah as a bowling superstar for India after the way his first four balls in the IPL went. Just based on the three boundaries he conceded in those four balls, many people even wrote him off as just another bowler with a ‘weird’ bowling action. But the comeback he made by getting the big wicket of Virat Kohli was exactly how his career shaped up over the last decade.
The debuts
Though Bumrah didn’t have much success in the IPL after the 3-wicket haul on debut, the pacer was constantly backed by the Mumbai Indians management knowing the value of his talent. The speedster kept giving some top-class performances in the domestic circuit irrespective of the format he played. The impact he created during the 2015-16 season was such that India made him play an ODI after he was picked for T20Is in Australia.
Couple of wickets on ODI debut followed by a 3-wicket haul on T20I debut and Bumrah never looked back from thereon. He soon became India’s No.1 pacer in the limited-overs formats and did make his mark in Test cricket too. Bumrah, who is yet to play a Test match at home, has already picked 68 wickets across 14 Tests at only 20.33 average. The Ahmedabad-born player has five 5-wicket hauls in the longer format coming in four different nations – South Africa, England, Australia and West Indies.
We grew up with Indian batsman facing hostile pacemen who would snarl & threaten our boys at every turn.
And prayed for the day when we’d return the favour.
Never knew it would be with a bowler who would do it with such a unique action & such a lovely smile.
HBD Jasprit Bumrah pic.twitter.com/VAE54Neyqe— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) December 6, 2020
Claiming glory
21 of his Test wickets came during India’s victorious campaign in the Australian tour. Bumrah picked nine wickets alone in the Boxing Day Test during his ‘Player of the Match’ performance leading India to a 2-1 lead. While Bumrah awaits his major success in terms of titles in Indian colours, he has been clinical behind MI’s success in IPL for whom he has been at his best for the previous five seasons.
The Rohit Sharma-led franchise won the title in three of the five seasons since Bumrah’s debut for India. Accuracy at the death overs, the pace and art of nailing the yorkers with a slinging action got Bumrah a superstar image even before he completed five years in International cricket. It can be said that over the last four years, the glory and fame which Bumrah received was next to none. It won’t be an understatement to call him the first specialist fast-bowling superstar in a country that hails batsmen and the captains.
