Jasprit Bumrah – A work of art, continually in progress
Jasprit Bumrah was born this day, 1993 (6th December).
We once saw a man named Jeff Thompson stretch every possible muscle in his right arm as much as he could, to bowl at high speeds. He was an unusual sight, but splendidly effective. Then came Lasith Malinga in the early 21st century, with his slinging action, rolling his arm over with his horizontal arm nearly parallel to the ground.
Paul Adams weaved his magic without himself ever getting the first glimpse, whilst MS Dhoni and Steve Smith’s batting technique gets talked about to date, for it is apparently not orthodox. Not very sure if people remember Kamran Khan from Rajasthan Royals, who was in a similar mold, had a pretty stressful action, but couldn’t survive long.
The game of cricket has not been the most welcoming to accepting eccentric ways of getting things done, but time and again, men like Malinga, MS Dhoni, Steve Smith have proven a fact that you will find your place in this aesthetics-driven sport keeping your own anomalous ways, once you start getting results.
Jasprit Bumrah made his IPL debut in 2013.
Similar was the case when Jasprit Bumrah entered the scene. The adulation and aspiration with which we see Bumrah today, I doubt if anyone could foresee that adulation when he was 19, and just moved from a net bowler with Mumbai Indians to making his debut against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Also Read: WATCH: Jasprit Bumrah clone (with a twist) spotted in European Cricket
The very first ball he bowled, he grabbed attention. The way he raised both his stiffly, upright arms before releasing the ball, the way he angled his deliveries into the right-handers – it took him very little time to direct all the eyes towards him.
A few balls later, he had dismissed Virat Kohli. Despite getting hit for some runs, he picked up 3 wickets. He made just 2 appearances for Mumbai Indians in 2013, but they retained him for the following season, and the only direction he went from there was upward, although the rise was slow and steady.
Experts questioned if he could stick around for long, with his action exerting an incredible amount of pressure on his back. His slinging inward action denied him the privilege of moving the ball away to right-handers, and that was seen as a hindrance. When he worked his way through a lot of these critiques, he was accused of being predictable.
But one aspect of this fast bowler that makes him an inspiration for budding young cricketers, is his ability to take criticism on the chin, work on his skill set without losing the niche factors that set him aside, turn up another morning to bowl his heart out, and win games for the side. There are very few in the modern game quite like him.
For a man who saw his father pass away at the age of 7, and who was raised by his mother who was also the principal of the school he studied in, perhaps a lot of the challenges that followed later on weren’t as huge in size. But time and again, Bumrah has managed to rise against the tide, and made his presence felt with
Ferocious, but with a smile on his face
Bumrah has been a part of all five Mumbai Indians triumphs in IPL.
Imagine bowling a crucial over of a tournament final, with not a lot of runs to defend and your keeper fails to grab a regulation take, conceding five byes. Quinton de Kock very nearly cost Mumbai Indians the 2019 IPL final, when he conceded five runs out of nothing, putting further pressure on the next bowler.
But Jasprit Bumrah went to his South African teammate, put a hand on his shoulder, and we don’t know what the conversation between them was, but it seemed like the bowler was consoling the keeper. Belonging to a generation that saw the likes of Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee, Sreesanth, Dale Steyn and others, for a fast bowler as ferocious as Bumrah to provide a moment like that was beyond surprising.
Also Read: WATCH: Jasprit Bumrah bowling with a different action in under-19 cricket
That’s what separates him from the rest. He isn’t just cool as ice when under pressure, he can maintain it when things get ugly too. He could bowl a venomous bouncer and head back to his marking without uttering a word, and follow it up with a yorker – All without much fuss and ado.
He wasn’t like this in his early days. He was the usual fast bowler who would put his excitement into wayward celebrations, sometimes on the face of the opponent, when he picks up a wicket. Not many can forget that sight when he cleaned up AB de Villiers at Wankhede in 2014 and followed it up with a dismissive celebration which enraged a lot of RCB fans.
With every passing year, and after every tough experience, he managed to move past these antics. He started channelizing every cent of his energy into his bowling, and in the Virat Kohli era of supremacy in Test cricket, his hand was perhaps one of the most pivotal.
In 24 Tests, he picked up 101 wickets at an average of 22.79. In 67 ODIs, he has scalped 108 wickets at an average of 25.33 and an economy of 4.65. In the shortest format, he has 66 wickets in 55 appearances at an economy of 6.52, and his IPL numbers are pretty similar as well, with the man picking up 130 wickets in 106 games.
There is enough evidence to back the fact that he is the best Indian fast bowler right now, and if someone had told in 2013 that this skinny little cricketer with a weird action would go on to scale these heights, perhaps no one would’ve believed. That is what Bumrah stands for, to never buckle down to the opinions floating around and keep faith in what you’re good at, for it will take you to your destination one fine day.